


Two Worlds

by BlueQuills



Category: DreamSMP, Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Betrayal, Bittersweet Ending, Blood, Crossover, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 29
Words: 42,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27260713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueQuills/pseuds/BlueQuills
Summary: As corrupted codes glitch through the Dream SMP server, the members find themselves in Hermitcraft.A perfect recipe for disaster.During the chaos, the admins (Dream, Techno and Xisuma) are captured in attempts to steal their admin power, and the rest of the server must learn to co-exist in order to work together to get their leaders back.The three admins must also learn to get along. Each one carrying the burden of a ghost of their past, they only way out is to face their deepest fears, and greatest regrets.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 651
Kudos: 781





	1. Golden Yellow

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, new writer here!
> 
> Please note several things: 
> 
> Because of the ridiculous amount of players in the Dream SMP server in real life, I have made a few adjustments:  
> 1\. Time is set after Manberg vs Pogtopia war with the result of Pogtopia winning (EDIT: Please note that this fic was written before the revolution happened, so I assumed Pogtopia would win, and consequently exiled several characters to the void).  
> 2\. I've just removed a bunch of characters who don't fit my writing style (ex. Ones who include immense amounts of swearing as part of their character) as I won't be able to write them accurately.  
> 3\. The current SMP cast has been narrowed down to this list:  
> Dream  
> Technoblade  
> Sapnap  
> Georgenotfound  
> WilberSoot  
> Nihachu  
> Tubbo_  
> TommyInnit  
> Badboyhalo  
> Yes, I know I removed a lot of people. Some others may come in later in the story.  
> Also, admins are not all-powerful and Techno and Dream are co-admins of the server but Dream knows more then Techno, in this regard.  
> Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are reading this line of text, it was added about a week after I finished the story, and it is to announce that I have finally named the chapters. They are named after colours that I think fit the plot/mood, and spell out a message when all looked at together :D
> 
> Enjoy!

Dream yawned, his face illuminated by the ghastly green of holographic code that floated steadily in front of him. He paused, studying the letters, then frowned, typing quickly, his tired fingers flying across a glowing keyboard made of the same floating, half-transparent material as the letters. They were made of an admin's powers, sustained by his willpower.

Code.

The fundamental thing that made up the world. There were constant bugs, errors, and cases of code glitching, which is exactly what Dream is on the lookout for. He discovers a small flaw in the code, which would have caused a few blocks to glitch and vanish whenever someone bred a cow, and carefully rearranged the glowing letters, adding and deleting a few. Satisfied, he yawned again and formed a fist with his right hand, the code and keyboard vanishing into the inky darkness. He looked around him, noticing for the first time how dark it has gotten outside, crystal-like stars glittering coldly on a sky as dark as the void.

He sighed. Admin duties were tiring, and he was often kept up late, but he enjoyed it. The power. The thrill of being able to tell his friends in the morning that he had fixed the code. The satisfaction of perfecting a piece of code. Oh - and of course the fact that no one else has wanted to do it. But that was fine.

He stood and stretched, his fingers aching from so much typing, nearly smacking Sapnap in the face.

Sapnap gave a startled yelp and jumped backwards.

"Sapnap!" Dream protested, trying to calm his racing heart from the unexpected jump scare.

"Dream!" Sapnap snapped right back. "Is that how you apologize for almost beheading a friend?!"

Dream laughed. "Beheading? First of all, you are the one who snuck up on me in the middle of the night, and second, that wouldn't have even scratched you!"

Sapnap chuckled, then frowned. "In all seriousness, you should be sleeping. It's not healthy to be staying up this late."

"I needed to. To fix the code."

Sapnap rolled his eyes. "Well now I feel guilty. Thanks a lot."

Dream blinked. "What?"

"I uh- noticed a bit of a glitch."

Dream frowned. "That's not good. Where?"

"I'm not telling to until tomorrow Dream. Go sleep."

"But-"

"No buts! You are going to work yourself into the ground! This is ridiculous! If you don't sleep, I'm going to tell Techno - he's an admin too!"

Dream fidgeted nervously. "Alright but please don't tell Techno. Last time he tried to fix some coding issues for me he ended up accidentally turning the entire chunk into a potato farm."

"Oh yes-" Sapnap agreed, amused. " _Accidentally _."__

____

Dream sighed. He had been unable to get Techno to learn any admin powers, apart from one simple command. A summoning command, that gave him his enchanted diamond sword, his trusty weapon that had won him many, many fights. Dream hesitated, glancing at Sapnap who was glaring at him with a mock angry expression. "I still think I should fix the code right now. The earlier it's caught, the easier it is to fix."

__

Sapnap refused to budge. "Nope," he disagreed cheerfully, nudging Dream towards his bedroom. "No coding. Sleep."

__

Dream stifled a yawn. "Fine..." He grumbled trudging sleepily towards his bedroom. Some sleep would be good, he relented in his mind.  
Besides, it was just one small error. A tiny glitch.  
He could fix it tomorrow.

__

Sapnap grinned victoriously and headed back into his room as well.

__

As the glittering stars flickered across the sky, the minds of the Dream SMP were at rest.

__

Unaware of the hidden corruption tearing through their world.

__


	2. Orchid Purple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream stumbles closer to the truth.  
> What he finds will put everyone and everything he knows in danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not expect this much support on this story, maybe like 3 views or something, but this is incredible.  
> Thank you to everyone who's read, bookmarked, commented or gave kudos to the story- you've made my day :D.  
> I'll do my best to meet everyone's expectations! I have the next couple chapters written out, but still need to revise them and check for spelling errors as I'm typing the whole thing on my phone.
> 
> Thanks!  
> \- A very excited author

Techno narrowed his eyes, watching Tommy and Tubbo spar with each other, gleaming iron blades glittering in the hazy morning sunlight. He frowned in concentration, carefully studying each move made by the two younger boys.

"Tubbo! Lean more into your strike!"

Tubbo nodded, beads of sweat gleaming on his forehead as he faced Tommy, who gave a fierce battle cry and launched himself at Tubbo.

Tubbo drew back, leaping to the side, narrowly avoiding Tommy's strike.  
Dream, who had quietly walked up to Techno during the sparring match nodded. "Tommy, mind your defence! Don't press forwards that much!"

Techno laughed."Oh no, don't listen to him. The best defence is a successful offense!"

Tubbo chuckled breathlessly at Tommy's mock-angry expression, parrying Tommy's strike.

Techno turned to Dream beside him, silently noting the somewhat well rested expression of the slightly younger man. Dream didn't get a lot of sleep, so as long as he was in bed for more than 6 hours, the others counted him as being well rested.  
Dream nodded at the two students who now has their blades locked in a X shape, each one trying to overpower the other through brute force. "You're doing a good job with them."

"You think so?"

Dream smiled. "Yeah. Yeah I do."

Suddenly, Tommy ducked and drew his blade back, causing Tubbo to stumble forwards, his blade barely missing Tommy who then leapt forwards, touching the point of his sword to Tubbo's back.

"I win!" He screamed in excitement, tossing his sword aside.

Tubbo, taking advantage of his now weaponless opponent chuckled and jabbed his blade at Tommy's throat. "Never give up until you disarm your enemy!"

Tommy glared at him. "What!? That's ridiculous! Techno!" He turned to the pink haired male who stared back at him with a faintly amused expression. "Tell him I won!"

Techno glanced at Dream, who shrugged. "I mean... he is the one who currently has his sword to your neck."

Dream laughed as Tommy pouted. "This is so unfair."

Dream turned back to Techno. "I should be going. I gotta go fix a glitch Sapnap found."

Techno nodded. "I see. Well, it may interest you that I found a glitch too."

Dream sucked in a breath. Tommy and Tubbo listened politely, eager to go back to the sparring match.

"Well? What is it?"

Techno drummed his fingers against the hilt of his sword. "There's a few blocks, back at spawn, that sometimes vanish. However, it should be taken into account that it was late at night and well, I was sleepy."

Dream nodded. "I'll take a look into that. Actually, it may even be the same one Sapnap found since he told me to meet him at spawn."

Techno raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want help?"

Dream laughed lightly. "Quite sure. I don't want another potato farm incident."

"That wasn't even my fault!"

"Yes it was." Dream disagreed, amused. "Anyway, I'll be going now!"

Tommy and Tubbo waved as Dream walked away, flickering strands of admin powers wreathing around his feet, giving him an extra sort of swiftness. It wasn't too noticeable, but it helped him get around with all the admin duties.

* * *

Sapnap was waiting for Dream at spawn, tapping his foot. "Late."

"By a quarter of a second!" Dream protested.

"That's still late. No excuses."

Dream laughed at his friend, and then seriousness struck their faces at once.

"So, what's the glitch?"

Sapnap gestured towards a patch of empty ground. "A sheep disappeared."

Dream blinked. "Wait what? What do you mean disappeared?"

"I mean I was walking around, and there was a sheep. And then there was his sort of blurry mirage kinda thing that covered it. And then it vanished."

Dream arched an eyebrow and Sapnap sighed.

"Look, I know it's not believable, but you gotta believe me!"

"That sentence.... does not make sense."

Sapnap threw his hands up in exasperation and Dream nodded, still amused.

"I'll look into it." He promised. Facing the mysterious place, he waved his hand and the green holographic letters and keyboard flickered into existence in front of him. Muttering to himself, he scrolled through the code, looking for something, anything, that might have to do with what Sapnap described.

Sapnap, not having plans that day, sat beside Dream, waiting. Listening to the satisfying sounds of Dreams fingers tapping the keyboard, watching his friend's eyes reflect the green light.

Dream froze.

"What is it?" Sapnap tilted his head curiously.

Dream turned to him, and just from his expression Sapnap could tell that something was wrong.

"Call an emergency meeting.

I found something. Not good. Not good at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's the chapter :)  
> Next chapter will be set in Hermitcraft so prepare yourself!  
> Also, I have no shame in leaving you on this cliffhanger.


	3. Nickel Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In another world, Xisuma is also dealing with glitches that he's never seen before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't tend to respond to comments in the comment section as I think it messes up the comment count, but I do read every single one. Multiple times over, in fact, because they make me so happy :D  
> Thanks for the support from everyone!  
> The chapter uploads will be fairly quick for the first six or so since I already have them mostly written out, but will slow slightly later on.  
> Read on!

Xisuma flicked out his elytra wings, the thick shimmering grey fabric catching the golden afternoon sunlight. He glanced around, then briefly removed his helmet, surprising himself at how un-purple the world looked as he remembered that his visor had a purple taint. He glanced up at the sky, his dark hair and greyish purple eyes catching the sunlight. Leaning forwards over the edge of his base, he spread his wings, letting the wind pick him up and push him into the air.

Oh how pleasant the outside world was. After working on the stuffy insides of a semi-automatic concrete farm for most of the morning, the warm sunlight and fresh wind felt like heaven.

He angled his wings, swooping through the clouds, then landed gracefully on the canopy of a nearby jungle tree, close enough to see his progress.

A bell-like ping sound alerted him to a new message and he pulled out his communicator, glancing down at the screen, popping his helmet back on.

Grian: I found a thing. Xisuma could you come check it out?

Xisuma arched his eyebrow, curiosity creeping through his veins.

Xisumavoid: Sure thing! Where are you?

Grian: At spawn

Xisumavoid: Be right there!

Xisuma tucked the communicator back into his pocket and flared his wings again, leaping into the air. The communicators were a project he, iskall and Tango had worked on, combining their redstone abilities and his own admin powers to create a small device that allowed the Hermits to communicate from wherever in the world. Technically, it would work without the admin powers, just slower and only within touching chunks.

Distracted, he almost flew into a tree, barely managing to veer violently to the side, nearly clipping his wings in the process. Sputtering with shock, he flew upwards, soaring above the leaves as to not crash into anything else.

He managed to make it to spawn without dying, landing several meters away from Grian who nodded as he approached.

"So, what appears to be the problem?" The admin questioned curiously.

Grian nodded towards his left and Xisuma gaped in shock.

There was a block of, what he assumed was once sand, completely glitched. It flickered in and out of existence randomly, shuddering and occasionally bursting into an orb of light before solidifying again.

"That would - uh - be the problem."

Xisuma nodded sarcastically. "Thanks. Never would have figured it out otherwise."

Grian chuckled, then shuffled his feet nervously. "Do you know what it is?"

Xisuma shook his head, hating how clueless he was about it. He had a bad feeling blooming inside his chest every time he glanced at the block and all his instincts were screaming at him to leave it alone.

He turned to Grian as he remembered how naturally curious the shorter hermit was. "Grian. I am completely serious when I say this. _Don't touch it_."

Grian manage to summon a somewhat serious expression and nodded, which somewhat reassured Xisuma as Grian did not immediately burst into laugher.

Xisuma scooted closer to the block, then summoned his coding screen with a wave of his hand. Green, glowing letters shimmered into existence in front of him and Grian made a noise of excitement watching the admin at work.

Xisuma scanned the code, reading it over, running over scenarios in his head. Of all the bugs and glitches he has had to fix over the years, he has never seen this one.

Yet it seemed oddly familiar.

He brushed his hand against the code made up the spawn chunk, shivering as he felt it.

A cold, shivering sensation that felt like he was being faintly electrocuted.

The power signature of another admin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, another cliffhanger. Yeah, I really like those.  
> Don't worry, it'll be explained. Thanks again for reading! <3  
> Also, the plot will start to pick up soon!


	4. Emerald Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the plot really starts to move, Xisuma probably wishes it did not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reading the comments, they are either super supportive or just funny and I enjoy them.  
> Also, PolarBearQueen3527 mentioned that the only character they care about in the Dream SMP cast is bbh, which for some reason I found amusing, so I went and gave him a few lines. He's not the main character, but him and muffins will show up a couple times during conversations. Maybe later I'll give him a larger role...  
> Thanks for the support so far, and read on!

"The what?" Impulse sputtered, his expression similar to the other 22 Hermits who stood in a loose circle, facing Xisuma.

"Power signature," the admin explained. "It's different for every admin and it's basically like a username, but less.. real. It's more of a feeling kind of thing, and it's present in everything you code."

Ren nodded. "Yeah, that kinda makes sense." He rubbed his sunburnt nose subconsciously, his eyes peeking out below the rims of his sunglasses. Stress poked him and handed him a little bottle of fire resistance, smiling mischievously. 

"A free sample."

Xisuma rubbed his hands nervously. He had called an emerging meeting at spawn, and all the hermits had stared, wide eyes at the block, then unanimously decided to steer clear of it. Except for Xisuma of course, who would be looking farther into it. A deep feeling of dread was starting to settle in his stomach, which he did his best to ignore.

Xisuma cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention again. "One last thing. The power signature's from another admin and while I don't know who they may be, they are working against us. In fact, they turned off respawn."

Gasps of shock met his words.

"I can't manage to turn it back on. So please, don't do anything dangerous."

Tango narrowed his glittering red eyes. "I suppose you mean no Ravager travel then." His voice was filled with amusement.

Xisuma sighed. "Preferably not." He agreed.

The hermits all nodded.

Mumbo glanced at Xisuma. "It's basically permadeath, isn't it?"

The admin nodded and the hermits glancing at each other sombrely, Ren rubbing a little fire resistance on his sunburn.

"Wait a minute..." Grian muttered, the other hermits turning to glance at him.

"The glitched block is gone."

Xisuma whirled around, his eyes wide behind his visor as he noticed that the glitched block, was, indeed, gone. The hermits took a step back from where they had last seen it, glancing at it warily.

Xisuma tensed. He could feel something in the air, shooting through the system, tearing through code like lighting.

Pain spiked in his chest and he gasped. Something major was wrong with the code. As an admin, he had a certain link to it, which is why he could feel _so much _pain. It pulsed within his chest, his muscles screaming in agony.__

__Keralis rushed forwards instantly, his firm hands grabbing Xisuma's shoulders steadying the admin who winced, as if he'd been stabbed. "Are you all right? Shashwammy?"_ _

__Grian's panicked voice rose above the clammer of the panicked hermits. "What's going on?"_ _

__Xisuma managed to catch his breath, briefly suppressing the pain. "Something's wrong with the code."_ _

__Stress shouldered her way to Xisuma's side, handing him a potion of healing, but he pushed it aside gently. "Those don't work. I'm not actually hurt."_ _

__He winced as another spike of pain lurched through him, barely able to keep himself upright._ _

__Keralis eased him into a sitting position and he glanced gratefully at his friend, weakly waving his hand and summoning his coding screen which flickered into existence. Breath coming in gasps, he scrolled through the letters, his slender fingers shaking._ _

__False unsheathed her sword, brushing a strand of blond hair out of her face. Xisuma didn't think that the sword would help, but he could tell from the way False held the blade that its presence comforted her._ _

__He shuddered as he came across a glitchy length of code, the letters flickering and flashing across his screen. Suddenly, as another brilliant bolt of pain shot through him, he managed to immerse himself within the code, communicating and repairing it completely on willpower. It was something admins could do in times of crisis, and while much more efficient, also incredibly draining on them mentally and physically._ _

__Keralis stood protectively next to Xisuma, who had gone limp, his eyes closed under his visor. Green glowing letters swirled around him hypnotically, gleaming and twirling in the air._ _

__"Is he alright? X!?" Mumbo sputtered fiercely._ _

__"He's checking the code." Keralis cast a worried look at the flicker of pain on his unconscious friend's face._ _

____

* * *

__

Xisuma could see utter darkness, as black as the deepest night, so immersive and thick he felt almost as peace. It drained his willpower and corroded his thoughts, making it difficult to do anything. At the same time, he had never felt to alive, so powerful. He could sense where everything was, every flaw and every dip in the code that he had spent so long trying the perfect.

__

Gritting his teeth against the spiking pain, he tried to focus and extended his consciousness farther, to the source of the pain.

__

A hacker. He could feel each attack as it trembled through the delicate, intricate code, shivering like a spider's web.

__

He didn't recognize the power signature, but he could read the waves of distress that poured freely from the hacker as their mind opened like the petals of a flower in their connection to the code. He could see them too, in his mind, a man in a green hoodie, a shining white mask adorned with a smile covering his face.

__

For a brief moment, their minds were connected by the network of letters, and Xisuma could sense a lifetime of joy and anguish, so sharp and so vivid, an outpouring of emotions that swallowed him. Bright, sudden images swamped his mind: a man with the blue shirt and wide rimmed glasses sitting next to another man in a white shirt and dark eyes and hair; the laughter of two young boys; the brutal clang of two blades clashing; a pink-haired man wielding a diamond sword, his face unreadable; a muffin.

__

The last one confused him a little.

__

Judging from the expression of the Hacker, he guessed that they too, were connected to his mind. He braced himself, building up a wall of code that slowly slid into place between himself and the hacker, hoping to use it to shield himself from the onslaught of vivid memories that filled his thoughts and spilled into his consciousness, making it difficult for him to concentrate.

__

Then, the hacker recoiled and lunged, bright waves of code sweeping outwards from where he stood.

__

A final attack. One last push. A wave of energy rolled across the code, smashing everything in its way. A bright bolt of energy that shot towards the originally glitched block.

__

Caught by surprise, Xisuma stumbled against the wave of energy, unable to defend against it and almost instantly lost his connection to the code and the rich, deep darkness faded away, as did his senses.

__

He felt nothing.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Stuff is actually happening now. And yeah, I left y'all on another cliffhanger. I mean, at this point, it's tradition. It would be wrong to break it :D  
> Get ready, because next chapter we're going back to the Dream SMP characters!


	5. Burgundy Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So why did Xisuma see Dream hacking? What was Dream doing? To understand how we got there, we must skip back in time a tiny bit, to the discussions that led Dream to his choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, back in the Dream SMP. Thanks everyone so far for your support! Read on!

Tubbo glanced at Dream nervously, his fingers subconsciously tracing the outline of a tiny bee charm Tommy had given to him years ago, when they had first met. He could tell from the uncharacteristically sharp voice of the main admin that, well, stuff was not going well.

"There's the power signature of another admin."

Sapnap tapped his friend on the shoulder. "Uh, in all due respect, are you sure it's not Techno?"

Dream shook his head as Techno scowled. "I do recognize his power signature. Yes, I'm sure it's not Techno, which begs the question: who is it?"

Wilbur put an arm around Nikki nervously, the latter leaning closer towards him.

Bad chewed quietly on a muffin, offering a piece to Sapnap who declined.

"Alright-" Tommy cut in, "so who else is an admin?"

Dream glanced at him, a worried expression carved into his face. "That's the problem. Our world doesn't have a third admin."

Techno stood up, sheathing his sword. "Simple. There's someone hiding in the code."

Tubbo gaped at him. "You can do that?" His voice trembled in awe.

Dream shook his head, "Well, we can't, but some... people ... well aren't completely human. Maybe someone out there can survive in the code."

Techno narrowed his eyes. "They would have to be a Voidwalker."

"Those are a myth!" George burst out, frustrated.

Techno met his gaze calmly. "Myths are based on reality."

Even Bad had a skeptical expression on his face as he glanced at Techno.

"Alright, alright," Tommy made the time-out sign with his hands. "One question: what?"

Dream managed a slight smile. "The code that makes up and protects our world extends outwards slowly, wrapping us in sort of layers that I, as admin, must fix every now and then, to stop glitches, bugs or hackers through. Outside of our little safe bubble is this nothingness called the void and outside of that are other worlds." 

"I know that!" Tommy interrupted. "I meant, what are Voidwalkers?"

Dream glanced at Techno. "A- supposed - myth about some sort of being that can survive in the void."

Techno shrugged. "It makes sense - explains a couple mysteries that have come up over time."

Bad sighed and continued munching on his muffin.

Dream paused suddenly, noticing a peculiar feeling in the air. It made his fingers tingle, like a thunderstorm about to burst into rain.

Techno lifted his head too, his eyes meeting Dream's for a spilt second, before motioning for Dream to summon his holographic screen.

Dream winced and managed to pull up his coding screen. The whole room stared in shock at the seemingly random letters and symbols that flashed across the screen, appearing and disappearing in the blink on an eye.

Techno grimaced. "Oh that's not good."

Dream strained his ears as he picked up on a slight shift in the world code.

He cursed fiercely, smashing keys on his holographic keyboard, but wasn't successful in whatever he had wanted to achieve. Behind him, Bad muttered softly, "language".

Tubbo tapped Dream on the shoulder. "What's going on? What are you trying to do?"

Dream glanced at him, then around at the loose circle of players. He could tell from Techno's expression that the pink-haired man had sensed it by himself already.

"Respawn has been turned off. I can't turn it on again."

Techno narrowed his eyes. "Who would have the power to run this kind of command?"

"An admin, and only an admin." Dream answered.

Unease wormed through the whole group. Tubbo squeezed Tommy's hand tightly, and for the first time, Dream wished he had someone to cling on to as well.

Wilbur squeezed Niki's hand. "What can we do?"

Dream hesitated. His friends could tell from his briefly empty expression that he was completely lost in thought, calculating and formulating possibilities in his head.

"Abandon this world." He said finally.

Tommy and Tubbo exchanged glances of dismay. Bad blinked away a few tears, looking around and taking in the sight of their world. Wilber jumped to his feet, shock blazing in his eyes as he gaped at Dream.

"Leave. If we flee, usually they can't follow. They won't be able to track us. If we do, we must do it quickly. Judging from how quickly the glitch is progressing, I may not be in power here for too long. I can already... feel it."

Techno gave him a wary glance, his diamond blade propped up casually on the wall beside him. "You really think so? Running away is the answer? To run from _everything _we've known and made?" His accusing tone stung and Dream flinched.__

____

Dream avoided his gaze. He didn't want to answer.

____

"No. But it's the only way we'll survive."

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, they're leaving. Whoever guesses where can have a cookie.


	6. Umber Brown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate, Dream attacks the code of another world, which happens to be Hermitcraft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!  
> Regarding last chapter, PolarBearQueen3527 won a cookie. Good job, you read my mind. In fact, it's almost as if it was all in the fic summery.  
> *hands over imaginary cookie*  
> Also, Galaxy_Shard can have a participation award because you made me laugh.  
> *hands over another imaginary cookie*  
> Honestly if I sent them to Hypixel this fic would be the troll of the decade haha.  
> Also, another thanks to everyone's comments, reading them is oh so fun :D  
> Can y'all believe that this story has 1000 hits? That's crazy and I cannot thank everyone who's shown interest in this story enough. Here, everyone have a cookie!  
> *starts throwing imaginary cookies at y'all*  
> Enjoy the new chapter and read on!

Dream closed his eyes, scouring the code. He could feel his connection to it strengthen, and his consciousness extended to even the most remote edges of the world, creeping towards the void. He couldn't physically see anything, his mind immersed in the deepest black he had ever known, but he didn't feel blind or limited. Instead, he could feel everything. He had already taken chosen a world to narrow on, and a block within it. It was more or less random, as he had let his consciousness wander until it brushed against the edge of another world. All he had to do now was get through the code and focus his power on the block he had chosen, using it to open a portal from his world to the new one.

From what he could sense, it was a block of sand, near spawn.

Normally, he wouldn't modify a block so close to spawn as they tended to glitch pretty easily, but to be fair, he didn't normally go around hacking into other worlds either.

Closing his eyes, he started to narrow in on it. He knew that if anyone was watching, the block would now start to glitch and look odd, but shouldn't cause any discomfort to the admin. Yet.

He began to dissect the code, smashing and tearing through it like paper. It was surprisingly well written, but Dream was one of the strongest admins in existence and gritting his teeth, he could get through it. He felt a stab of pity and shame for causing so much destruction, working so easily against everything he had stood for all his time as admin.

_I have no choice_ , he told himself. _It's their world, or mine. And I will not fail my friends_.

Suddenly, surprise and pain flooded his mind and he recoiled, confused and disoriented, before he sensed the power signature of another admin. He ran his senses through the lines of code, and sure enough, there was another mind connected onto it. The admin of the world he was ripping apart. 

___It surprised Dream a little, as only the stronger admins had a strong enough connection to the code that they could ascend to this level of being, but he continued through the code._ _ _

___The other admin opened his mind to Dream, and Dream staggered backwards in shock at the intensity of emotions and the strength of the visions that flashed into existence in his head._ _ _

___Pain. So much pain. And then blissful silence. He could see the defending admin, wearing an odd helmet with a purple visor and a green shirt, talking with another man who had oddly big eyes and a rather amusing shocked expression._ _ _

___Deep sadness that poured into his heart. It surprised him a little as he too had felt such a profound agony before._ _ _

____Joy, celebrations and screams of excitement and delight.  
Pure simply laughs of pleasure.  
A jagged bolt of lighting.  
Red, glittering eyes, corrupted to their core.  
Horror. Agony. Pain._ _

___Betrayal._ _ _

___Sacrifice._ _ _

___Dream squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm his pounding heart and the hot tears that pricked at the corners of his eyes. He knew that the experiences weren't real. They weren't even his. But they felt so genuine. He had never really liked immersing himself in code like he was now, even with Techno, as the code would connect their minds, combining them. Unifying them._ _ _

___Swallowing the tsunami of conflicted feelings, he recoiled, gathering his strength, then struck the code around him, releasing his energy and power in a shockwave of bright white energy, engulfing the letters at his feet._ _ _

___His consciousness wavered, his energy quickly depleting as the adrenalin in his veins began to fade._ _ _

___He could feel his connection to the other admin vanishing, evaporating like mist under the sun, and he felt an unexpected stab of regret. He hoped that he hadn't hurt them with his attack, but it was difficult to tell._ _ _

___Dream took a deep breath and closed his eyes, channeling his final reserve of energy into a single block, forcing his admin powers upon it. He had never used so much energy at once, and it had never left him this drained before, struggling to even draw in a breath._ _ _

___He pushed his concerns aside and focused on the task at hand._ _ _

___A portal._ _ _

___Slowly, the block he was aiming at began to glow, then shake and crack, spilling light into the eternal dark void. He could sense the connection and he knew that it opened a tunnel into his own world. He wouldn't be able to hold it open for too long though, and without his strength sustaining it, it would fade away quickly._ _ _

___A wave of relief washed over him, and suddenly exhaustion slammed into him, dragging him into the unknown depths of his own mind._ _ _

___He let it, fully trusting Techno and the others to carry him over, and protect each other while he was weak._ _ _

___Dream closed his eyes, his vision dimming, and he slipped sideways into the darkness, unsure of when he would wake up._ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's happening! Also, I was thinking of making a Dream SMP or/and Hermitcraft oneshots fic, with accepting prompts/ requests as well as ones I come up with.  
> How would you guys feel about that?  
> Anyone have any ideas I could write one on?  
> Btw, I'll write violence, as long as there's not too much gore, but no -ahem- shipping activities.


	7. Tangerine Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keralis worries for his friend. Then, he worries even more for his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started a Hermitcraft Oneshot series, which is open to requests!  
> No smut or shipping, which I know will deter some peeps, but oh well. Comfort is fine though.  
> Please go check it out if you have any ideas :)  
> The first request is on its way, suggested by InsaneWolf, and is about Tommy and Grian getting into trouble (I interpreted it as mostly pranks), so if your interested in that, it'll be out in a couple days.  
> And into the actual story we go! Read on!

Keralis pressed his fingers to Xisuma's neck, relieved to find a pulse. He had never seen his friend like this before, his expression so full of pain, so far away. It worried Keralis, and he couldn't help but wonder if every breath he saw drawn, every steady heartbeat he felt under his fingers would be the last.

Would Xisuma ever wake up? Keralis had only seen one of Xisuma's training sessions before, when the admin deliberately immersed himself into the code to test his strength and will, but then he hadn't been in pain, and he had woken up only a couple of minutes later. Speaking of minutes...

"How long have we been here?" Keralis asked no one in particular.

Mumbo checked his watch. "Seventeen minutes and twenty four seconds. Oh, now twenty five. Twenty six. Twenty sev-"

Grian nudged him to stop him from counting, them tilted his head at Keralis. "You've seen him like this before, right? I mean Xisuma, not Mumbo."

"Well... yes, but only once. And not this long." Keralis' voice shook, fearful for his friend.

Ren placed a comforting hand on Keralis' shoulder. "He'll be ok. It's Xisuma we're talking about."

Keralis barely managed to nod.

For all the times his friend had been there for him, he couldn't do anything in return.

Suddenly, an odd ripple of light and energy pulsed through the air, and the hermits all lifted their heads, expressions ranging from fear to curiosity.

The glitchy sand block flickered into being again, this time glowing. Bright beams of white, magical misty light danced around the block, and Doc, who was nearest to it, jumped away, startled.

None of the currently awake hermits were admins, yet the the power that surged into their world was so brutally effective, so intense, they could all feel it.

"Arm yourselves!" False ordered, brandishing her sword, grim determination carved across her face.

The hermits scrambled to pull out their weapons, Keralis and Ren maneuvering themselves in front of Xisuma. Fear pulsed through the air. None of them knew what to expect, but surely is was nothing good.

Grian unsheathed his blade, standing next to Mumbo, who held his own sword shakily.

Zedaph, Impulse and Tango stood side by side, sheids out, swords drawn.

Stress handed Cleo a few colourful splash potions, which the latter took gratefully. Keralis braced his shield in front of his unconscious friend, a loaded crossbow in his hand. Ren stood with a bow, an arrow notched, aiming at the now shaking, shuddering block.

Shafts of light streamed from its edges as cracks appeared across its surface. Admin energy wreathed and twisted around it, pulsing, gathering into a dense silvery cloud.

And then the world exploded.

Everyone was blasted back, brilliant light filling their vision. Keralis blinked, not hurt from being thrown back a couple blocks as his shield had taken the brunt of the attack. He could hear the yells of the other hermits, which scared him briefly, then relieved him because if they were screaming, it meant they weren't dead.

He glanced up frantically, dimly able to make out the shape of a couple unfamiliar players standing in the middle of the pool of admin power, their silhouettes outlined in silver light.

He could hear Doc scrambling to his feet beside him, and the scuffling of the other hermits. Concern suddenly spiked through him as he realized he didn't see Xisuma.

"Xisuma?" He called out, aware of the blurry players coming towards him. There was a moment of silence and dread gathered in Keralis' chest.

And then, came the hazy but distinct reply. "Keralis?"

Keralis wanted to weep with relief, but he made himself stand, facing the unclear players as they came even nearer.

Suddenly, the new players stepped out of the mist and Keralis felt like ice cold fingers were closing around his throat. Tightening slowly.

There were two young boys, holding each other's hand, the slightly shorter one grasping a tiny bee charm in his fist. A man with messy brown hair and sharp eyes stood protectively in front of a young lady, her eyes wide with fear. There was another man at the very back of the group with a black and red cloak draped over most of his body, a diamond sword strapped to his back, holding the unconscious figure of another player, one wearing a green hoodie and a white porcelain mask. He was flanked by two more men, one in a blue shirt with thick-rimmed white sunglasses, and the other with a casual white shirt and dark hair and eyes.

But at the very front of the group, stood a man with pink hair and a long, red cloak, the colour of fresh blood. He had a definite fighting stance, his blue-grey eyes calculating and wary. The way he stared at Keralis reminded him of the amber eyes of a hawk. And in front of him, held in the man's left arm by having it pinned across his chest with the edge of the man's gleaming diamond blade to his throat, was Xisuma.

The icy fingers around Keralis' neck seemed to squeeze and he suddenly found it very difficult to breathe.

Xisuma glanced at Keralis, his gaze surprising calm for someone being held hostage.

"Let Xisuma go!" Doc demanded, snapping Keralis out of his trance.

Ren and False had also gotten up and positioned themselves around the newcomers, their eyes radiating hostility. Keralis could see Stress and Cleo force-feeding Mumbo a potion, Grian watching anxiously in the background. BdoubleO was helping Scar up, eyeing the intruders warily. They were in no state to fight, and they all knew it, yet Keralis couldn't bear the thought of simply giving up Xisuma. He met the gaze of the man who was holding his friend hostage.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Keralis questioned, hating the tremble in his voice.

The man met Keralis' eyes coldly, and Keralis had no doubt that he could beat any of the hermits easily in a fight. Maybe even all of them at once.

The man smiled humourlessly, casually adjusting his grip on his sword, somehow managing not to slit Xisuma's throat.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Technoblade, but you can call me Techno. Oh, and I wouldn't move it I were you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real story is only just starting! Now this, I assume is the crossover y'all wanted :D  
> And yes, it's another cliffhanger.


	8. Iris Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Technoblade is not a fan of social interaction. But it seems that the universe really wants him to practice taking care of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The comments are great. Please continue with the comments, as I view them either as constructive criticism or high-quality entertainment. Both are amazing.  
> Also, unfortunately, I am running out of pre-written chapters, which means that my uploading will slow down a bit. I'll probably upload approximately once every day or two.  
> Also, I've just written out a plot outline because before I generally knew in my head, but now I actually like have a legit plan, and I'm ridiculously hyped to write some parts :D  
> Thanks everyone for your support so far, and read on!

Techno narrowed his eyes, trying to decide the best way to approach the situation. He was in a new world, with new people, with friends to protect, but he wasn't a really socially comfortable person.

He shifted awkwardly, trying to look menacing. He did, after all, have a hostage. Thinking about it now, he realized that maybe talking about it would have been a better option, but with Dream currently unconscious, he had to take precautions. He couldn't risk his friends getting hurt. But now, he might have just unnecessarily antagonized a whole server full of people.

Why were social situations so difficult to deal with?

He glanced at the one who he assumed was Keralis as he and Techno's hostage had shouted each other's names. This meant that his hostage was named Xisuma. He filed away that information in his mind.

Techno had disarmed all the players, who called each other "hermits". He found this name rather amusing.

Now, with all the hermits weapons piled next to him, his blade still resting against Xisuma's throat, it occurred to him that we wasn't really sure how to proceed.

He turned to his friends. Tommy and Tubbo were still looking pale and shocked- he couldn't really blame them, as dimension travel always left players with an odd, sickly feeling. It would go away soon though, which Techno knew from experience.

Wilbur held Niki's hand, his gaze making it clear that he was following Techno's plan, whatever it may be.

Bad, who had carried Dream through the portal had handed the admin to George, who laid him on the ground and was trying to force-feed him a potion of strength, while Sapnap watched, a faint expression of concern on his face.

Bad stepped closer to Techno, his attention now focused on the hermits around them, having handed Dream to George and Sapnap.

Techno readjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword, sweat making his fingers slippery. "So uh, Bad, you got any ideas?"

Bad gave Techno a small frown, surprised at being asked for advice. "Well yeah. For one, let the hostage go. It's rude. And two, talk to the Hermits' admin."

Techno glanced apologetically at his hostage, who gave a tiny nod. "Letting me go sounds like a good plan."

Techno gave a snort of laugher, then turned to Bad. "That's not going to happen. We need some sort of leverage or things could go very wrong. Talking to the admin sounds like a good idea though."

He turned to the hermits. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. My friends and I - uh - couldn't really stay in our world. So... uh..."

An angry voice cut him off. "If you aren't here to hurt anyone, why does Xisuma have a sword to his neck?"

Techno craned his neck to see who had spoken. It was a man wearing a grey and green shirt, with a gleaming blue electronic eye. 

Techno cleared his throat. "I don't want to hurt him, but I needed to make sure that my friends wouldn't be hurt."

Keralis stepped forwards. "Well we won't hurt you. We're all about building and friendship. And look at you. You know you could beat us all in a fight. So let Xisuma go."

Techno paused. "I could fight all of you." He agreed. "But not while protecting my friends. I'm doing this for them."

"So," Bad started, trying to ignore the glares of hostility from a couple of the hermits. "Who's your admin?"

One of the hermits, right next to Keralis glared at Techno. He was one of the oddest looking ones of the group, with a tattered white lab coat, green skin, and a glowing red cybernetic eye with plates of metal taking up half of his face. "Why do you need to know?"

Techno glanced at him. "Uh, to tell them why we're here? And to better understand who you guys are?"

The man narrowed his eyes and turned to Xisuma as if looking for permission.

Techno's hostage cleared his throat. "I can read his intentions. He's telling the truth."

This surprised Techno, though he was careful to keep his expression neutral. From the expressions on the other hermits, Techno could tell that they felt the same way. Bad, however, blinked curiously. "How can you tell?"

Xisuma smiled mysteriously. "Admins can read other admins."

There was a moment of silence as they digested the news, and Techno gave a start of surprise. "Wait... you're the admin?"

Xisuma chuckled, and Techno had to admit, he did feel a very strong power signature close to him, only he had ignored it because his power sense had felt scrambled after coming through the portal. Now, he wondered if that had to do with three admins in close proximity, two of them extremely powerful ones. Strangely, despite just realizing how powerful his hostage was, he felt that that he could trust Xisuma.

Bad evidently felt the same way, even though he couldn't feel the admin link, and he gently nudged Techno's sword away, and the latter sheathed his weapon and lowered his arm. Immediately, the other hermits allowed themselves to spread out, around Techno, in a non- threatening way, although a few still glared at Techno as if trying to figure out the best way to stab him. Keralis walked up to Xisuma, standing behind the admin, his hand on his friend's shoulder.

Xisuma glanced at Techno, curiosity glittering in his greyish-purple eyes. "Well. You couldn't tell I was the admin? I could certainly tell that you're one."

Techno tilted his head. "That's... unsettling. I couldn't really feel it until you mentioned it."

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I could also tell that your powers aren't very developed yet, so that's probably why. Anyway, what do you guys want?"

Techno opened his mouth to reply, but Bad interjected first. "My friend here isn't great at polite conversations, so I'll be talking instead."

Xisuma raised an eyebrow, looking amused at Techo's angry expression. "I kind of guessed, based off the fact that the first thing he did was put a sword to my neck." The admin rubbed his throat warily. "So," he pointed at Dream, who was still unconscious. "I recognize that one. He's the one who opened your portal. But why are you guys here?"

Bad was peeling the cup mould off of a blueberry muffin. Techno didn't understand where he got his muffins from, but he seemed to have an endless supply of the baked goods. As expected, he offered one to Xisuma, who declined politely.

"Well," Bad started to eat his muffin. "Dream noticed something wrong with the code. Some sort of admin power turned of respawn that wasn't him or Techno, and he couldn't fix it. He thought it was pretty bad, and decided that the only way out was to abandon our world and go to some other one." He swallowed a bite of muffin. "So here we are."

Xisuma frowned. "That's what happened to us. I assumed that it was connected to the sand glitch, which I'm now sure that was Dream, so they don't seem to be caused by the same person. They definitely feel connected though."

He glanced at the other hermits, who were nodding and muttering among themselves. They seemed to feel that the newcomers could be trusted.

Xisuma turned back to Techno. "Look. I feel like you're a good person. But as a responsible admin, I can't just leave this as is and accept the fact that you guys are here now. So uh, we're going to have a keep a close watch on all of you for a while."

Techno shrugged. "Sure. But to be fair, you couldn't contain me if you had wanted to."

Xisuma gave him a tired smile. "Admin powers, my friend." He turned to Sapnap and George, the latter still trying to get the unconscious Dream to swallow a potion. "Don't force feed him that. It won't help, and it might choke him." He turned. "Stress? Could you lend me a hand here?"

A girl with thick brown hair and a pink jacket stepped closer. Tucked in her hair was a wreath of magenta flowers, making the air around her smell as sweet as morning dew. She shooed Sapnap and George away, then gently rested her fingers on the unconscious admin's neck for a few seconds before rising. "He's tired, and drained, in terms of power. His vitals are steady though, so he should wake up in a few days. The most we can do is keep him comfortable and safe while he rests."

Xisuma nodded. 

"Well, I suppose we can bring him to my base. Actually, why don't we all go there? After that, we'll give you a server tour!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a little less of a cliffhanger. The drama slows down briefly, to allow for the characters to actually interact, but will pick up again soon.  
> I already have the next chapter already written out mostly, still need to proofread it, but more stuff is on its way!  
> Thanks again for all your support!  
> *hands out imaginary cookies to y'all*


	9. Mulberry Purple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xisuma doubts his decisions, but believes he made the right call. Only time will tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support! A lot of people said that the conversations in the previous chapters were pretty on point, and I'd like to thank y'all. I rewrote the exchanges so many times just trying to get most people in character - it wasn't easy, but if people noticed how it was written, it was worth it.  
> You guys are the best readers a writer could ever hope for, thank you all so much!  
> Read on!

As it turned out, the newcomers were too exhausted for a server tour, and promptly fell asleep as soon as their already unconscious admin was safe. Except for Techno, who was keeping watch over his friends, his diamond blade gripped tightly in his hands, refusing to let his friends rest unguarded.

Xisuma turned to Keralis. They were alone in another one of Xisuma's towers, the inky black sky speckled with countless stars stretched above their heads. "Hey."

Keralis smiled. "Hey."

"Sorry I worried you." His voice took on a teasing tone.

Keralis swallowed, the fear still all too real. He liked the newcomers, and he wanted to trust them, he really did. But every single time he looked at Techno, his mind re-lived that horrifying moment, when he had genuinely been terrified for the life of his friend. "It wasn't your fault."

"No. But you blame me for letting them stay."

Keralis lowered his gaze, ashamed at how easily Xisuma had read him. Xisuma tilted his head, gently placing his hand over Keralis's. "I understand."

"No you don't." Keralis muttered bitterly. "You're always there for me when I need it. In fact, you're there for the entire server when they need it. But the one time you actually needed help, I couldn't do anything."

Xisuma frowned. "You're not being fair to yourself. None of us could have done much in that situation. Besides, you do help me. You're the best friend any hermit could ever ask for."

"Awww Shashwammy." Keralis couldn't help but smile. Xisuma had that affect on others, which was something Keralis loved about his friend.

"But Shashwammy, in all seriousness, do you really think letting them stay is the best option?"

Xisuma paused, studying Keralis's expression. "I think they can be trusted." He said carefully. "I know you don't trust them much right now, which I understand completely. But I think they need help, and it's only right for us to give them a chance."

Keralis nodded. "You're right."

Xisuma smiled. "Aren't I always?"

"That does not sound like something I want to answer."

Xisuma laughed. "Go get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning and we can go get the new guys some elytras."

Keralis nodded and wished the admin a good night, before leaping into the starry sky, his elytra wings gleaming in the silver moonlight.

As he watched the tiny shape of his friend winging away towards the horizon, Xisuma felt a deep stirring of unease. Has he been right to trust the newcomers? Or had he only sympathized with them because of his own past? He knew he wouldn't ever be able to forgive himself if his friends got hurt because of one of his choices, but at the same time, an admin was to be presented as someone strong and capable. It would have been unwise to worry so much in front of his friends.

Even Keralis.

Especially Keralis.

He shared a lot of things with his friend, but this horrible fear of a situation with seemingly no right answer was not Keralis's burden to carry.

He sighed. Only time would reveal wether he made the right choice.

With that depressing thought, he headed to bed, exhausted from the day's activities.

* * *

The next day was bright and cheery. Golden sunlight dappled the rich, green canopy of the jungle, and tropical birds chattered, filling the air with life. The first thing Xisuma did when he woke up was check on the newcomers. Peeking into one of his towers he had given to them as a temporary base, he noted that most of them were up and about, but the bedroom door was still closed. Xisuma caught the gaze of one of the younger boys, Tommy, he remembered, and pointed at the door, mouthing the word "Dream?"

Tommy nodded and got up from the table he was sitting at. Tubbo followed his friend. "Hey Xisuma." Tommy greeted the admin. "Dream still isn't awake. Techno's also taking a nap because he didn't get any sleep last night."

Xisuma nodded. George, Sapnap, Bad, Wilber and Nihachu had all wandered over, regarding Xisuma with curious eyes. He rubbed his hands together. "Well, how about we get you guys some elytras?"

Tommy's eyes widened. "Really!? Yes!" He raised his hand and Tubbo gave him an enthusiastic high-five. Xisuma smiled.

A couple hours later, they were all equipped with shining grey wings. Elytras had to be made specifically for each player to fit their size, weight and frame, but with all the hermits working hard to collect the rare shimmering cloth and put them together, it hardly took any time.

Nihachu spread her wings daintily, opening and closing them slowly, like a butterfly on a flower. Wilbur beamed at her, squeezing her hand.

Tommy and Tubbo were chasing each other around, already starting to jump and glide, which were the first steps of learning to fly. George and Sapnap had both apparently flown before, and were now teaching Bad by carrying him a couple blocks into the air and letting him glide down.

Xisuma sat down, watching the newcomers enjoy the feeling of flight. Keralis walked up to him and settled right beside him, regarding the admin thoughtfully. "I thought about what you said and I think you can trust them. The kids at least. They seem so... genuine."

Xisuma smiled. "I trust them. All of them. My only question is whether my judgment should determine the fate of the whole server."

Keralis watched Bad launch himself in the air, higher than ever before and whooping in delight as he flew down safely. "You're admin for a reason. We trust your judgment and we trust you to make a judgment."

Xisuma wondered if he should respond, when Tommy approached them. "Tommy?"

Tommy hesitated. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course. How may I be of help?"

The younger boy swallowed nervously. "This sound super weird, but Tubbo isn't really acting like himself. He usually is, but sometimes I just feel like he isn't the person I knew from before. I mean, I know people change, but... sometimes he's just so out of character."

Xisuma raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what he was like before, Tommy, so I'm afraid I won't be of much help."

Tommy swallowed. "I was wondering if you could take a look at his code?"

Xisuma paused for a moment, digesting the question.

"Because I only just realized how important code is." Tommy explained. "So I thought that maybe there would be a way to explain it through his code?"

Xisuma met his gaze evenly. "I can, but I'll have to get his permission. I can't just randomly invade into people's codes. It isn't polite."

Tommy nodded. "Ok. Do it then."

Tubbo was fine with it, but he gave Tommy a wounded expression before following Xisuma into a more private room where he could properly inspect Tubbo's mind and code. Tommy had tried to apologize, but Tubbo waved it off in silence.

Xisuma felt a little guilty at seeing the cracks appear in their friendship, but knew that it wasn't his own fault. There really wasn't a lot he could do in this situation.

* * *

Half an hour later, Xisuma sat in one of his private towers, Tommy and Tubbo across from him.

"So, I looked into Tubbo's code."

Tommy nodded, shooting an apologetic glance in Tubbo's direction. "How was it?"

Xisuma paused, meeting the younger boy's gaze. "His code... isn't completely his."

Tommy drew in a breath of shock, as did Tubbo. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it's been altered in some way. It's too complex though, for me to safely pick apart without the risk of seriously injuring Tubbo. But as far as I can tell, some admin has changed his code."

Tubbo frowned. "I don't feel any different though..."

Tommy glanced at his friend. "Look Tubbo. I'I sorry for being suspicious and all, I really am. But this doesn't change anything. You're still my best friend."

Tubbo smiled, his eyes shining with tears. "Thanks."

They hugged, and Xisuma stayed awkwardly silent. He felt like an intruder. Or, perhaps, even more of an intruder after snooping though Tubbo's mind.

The sound of wind whistling past elytra wings caught his attention and he lifted his head, glancing at the tower entrance.

Techno swooped in, his red cape fluttering behind him regally. His elytras were actually smaller then the usual measurements, at his request, but with a thinner, sharper tip, like the wings of a hawk. It let him achieve much higher speeds, with increased precision, and he seemed to enjoy swooping around and shooting arrows at unsuspecting chickens as a pastime.

"Hello Technoblade." Xisuma greeted him.

Techno landed, folding his wings neatly. "Hey Xisuma. Dream's awake."

"How is he?" Tommy cut Techno off in excitement.

Techno chuckled, amused. "He's fine. But I figured we should probably get the admin to explain stuff to him." He dipped his head at Xisuma, who nodded in agreement.

"I'll be right there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama slows down, but will pick up a lot in chapter 11. Get ready.  
> Y'all can have muffins this time, because humans should have a varied, balanced diet.  
> *Throws imaginary muffins in your direction*


	10. Pearl White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hermits and SMPers enjoy each other's company. Which they should, because they won't have it for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone who's read this story! Can you believe it's chapter 10 already? We're in the double digits now!  
> A special thanks to PolarBearQueen3527 for mentioning how everyone should have their code checked- I didn't think of that for some reason which was a huge flaw in logical reasoning. So that takes place a little in this chapter. Please enjoy this cake as a thank you.  
> *passes overs imaginary thank-you cake*  
> Thanks to everyone else too for your support, and read on!

Xisuma landed neatly at the entrance to his guest tower, folding his wings and turning to wait for his companions. Tommy and Tubbo were fast learners, but they had only just learned to fly this morning. They weren't too far behind though- Xisuma could see them winging through the jungle, gliding over the canopy. He kept an eye on them, ready to swoop in if one of them lost their balance, but to his relief, they both managed to soar up to his tower and land unscathed. 

Tommy grinned. "That was fun!"

Xisuma gave him a small smile. "Let's go see Dream, shall we?"

Tommy and Tubbo trailed after Xisuma as he walked briskly to the living quarters of his tower, knocking on the iron door. A moment later, it creaked open, Bad on the other side, holding a chocolate chip muffin in his free hand. "Oh hi Xisuma! I assume you're here to see Dream?"

Xisuma nodded and Bad stepped aside to let him in. He noticed Nihachu and Wilbur sitting together on the sofa, strumming their instruments and humming a light tune. Wilbur gave him a little nod in greeting and Nihachu beamed. "Hi X!"

"Hello." He gestured towards Wilbur's guitar. "Love the music."

Wilbur smiled. "Thanks man. I heard you play guitar yourself?"

"I do."

"Maybe we could play together sometime?"

Xisuma's mouth curved upwards in a small smile. "I'd like that."

Nihachu laughed and nudged Wilbur gently. "Stop distracting him. He's here to talk to Dream!"

"Oh right." Wilbur pointed towards the bedroom door. "He's in there. Techno's with him right now."

Xisuma nodded and approached the room, Tubbo and Tommy trailing behind him. Opening the door, he took in the scene.

Soft, golden bars of sunlight streamed into the room through the window, warming up the whole room. Dream sat upright in a bed, his mask off. Techno sat next to him on the edge of the bed, the two debating about something. Xisuma only caught the words "potato farm" and "accident", which confused him, but he decided not to comment on it.

Dream turned to Xisuma and smiled. Xisuma studied his face carefully. He had messy blond hair, and a few light freckles across his nose. His eyes were the most intense, focused green Xisuma had ever seen, and while they were gentle, Xisuma could see a certain hard, coldness behind them. There was a thin, white scar that stretched across his face, from slightly above his right eye, over his nose and ending on his left cheek.

Xisuma could tell there was a story behind that, but judging from they way Dream preferred to wear a mask, decided not to ask.

Perhaps he and Dream weren't too difficult after all, with him preferring to have his helmet.

Tommy, however, did not have the inclination to keep quiet, and blurted out, "I didn't know you had such an epic looking scar!"

Tubbo poked his friend in the ribs, and Tommy whacked him right back. "What was that for?"

Dream winced and fumbled for his mask, slipping the white porcelain surface over his face, concealing his expression. "It's nothing. Just... a mark from before."

Xisuma turned to Tommy and Tubbo. "Why don't you guys go keep Bad company for a moment? I need to talk to Dream about some admin stuff." His voice invited no discussion.

"Yes." Tubbo agreed, dragging Tommy out of the room, Techno watching the exchange with amusement.

"So", Dream spoke first. "Xisuma I assume?"

Xisuma nodded. "How much do you remember?"

"Up to opening the portal. How long was I out?"

"About a day."  
Dream nodded, sighing in relief. "That's not too bad."

Techno smirked. "We really could have used your diplomacy though."

Xisuma laughed in agreement. "Your friend here is very handy with a sword, but a little less with words."

Techno gave a fake scowl. "I'll have you know that I'm an ex English Major thank you very much."

Dream laughed. "Well I apologize on behalf of Techno for whatever he did."

Xisuma waved it off. "Oh no, don't worry about it. He didn't actually hurt anyone. Now, I was wondering maybe if the three of us could have a little talk on what in the world is going on?"

Dream nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea. Oh, and sorry about attacking your code. I would have tried for a more diplomatic approach, but we were running out of time."

Xisuma nodded. "Of course. No worries though, no permanent damage done."

Dream laced his fingers together, pausing. "I'm a little worried about the code. Techno told me that your world was attacked - uh before I attacked - and respawn was turned off. That's also what happened to us, although ours felt a lot scarier. So I'm afraid that this is linked. I don't think we've really escaped anything."

Xisuma nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Do you have any ideas on what it might be?"

"No. I know it has to be an admin though- only an admin would have these abilities."

Techno glanced at Xisuma. "Would your world, by any chance, have an extra admin?"

Xisuma froze, memories flickering in his mind. "Two. There were two apart from me. One we parted with on good terms. The other... he's gone. He's not coming back."

Dream paused, reading Xisuma's expression. He could tell that Xisuma didn't want to talk about it, his purple eyes glittering with fear. "It's fine. It's probably not someone we know anyways. But so far I think the only thing we can do is to keep a lookout.'

"Constant vigilance." Techno agreed, running his hand down the side of his blade.

Dream hesitated and glanced at Xisuma. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble. You've built something great in this world, and I don't want to be the cause of the end. If you don't want us here, I can open a portal to another world."

Xisuma shook his head. "No. Even if I wanted you gone, which, to be clear, I do not, I have a feeling that the code disruptions brought us together for a reason, not that they randomly just so happened to you and I."

Xisuma couldn't see Dream's expression behind his mask, but he imagined that the masked man was smiling.

Dream nodded slowly and stretched. "Uh, I feel kind of sore after laying around for so long. Can someone come with me to the shopping district to get wings?"

"I'll come." Techno rose, sheathing his weapon and glancing at Xisuma. "If you don't mind, that is."

Xisuma waved his hand. "Of course not. Have fun!"

* * *

After what Xisuma had found about Tubbo's code, he had checked everyone's code. Dream, although a powerful admin, couldn't do much as he wasn't linked to this world's code like he was to his own and while he could run some simple commands and radiated power, he was unable to assist in checking the codes of the players. Which was fine, as Xisuma found nothing else. He wasn't sure if that should have made him worry more or worry less.

Instead, he directed his attention to the festival that was going to take place that evening.

* * *

The festivities ran into the night. The hermits and SMPers decided to settle their differences and celebrate the odd events that had brought them together with a little festival. Lanterns glowed brightly on the trees, mirroring the countless sea of stars on the sky. Laugher echoed through the warm summer night air as the hermits challenged the newcomers and other hermits to mini games. Some players simply walked around, starting snippets of small talk.

Tubbo was excited to learn that Xisuma was also a huge fan of bees, and the two kept up a conversation about the fluffy insects well into the night, often becoming the topic of gossip along the other partygoers.

Techno put up a firework show fairly early in the evening after swearing up and down to Dream that he wouldn't get anyone killed "this time", which had alarmed Xisuma, but nothing had gone wrong and they had all enjoyed the vibrant splashes of colour as the fireworks burst into a million flecks of light in the night sky.

Bad walked around, offering people muffins. Of the three varieties he had, chocolate, blueberry and cinnamon sugar, the last one seemed to be the most popular and by the end of the night, multiple hermits were begging him for the recipe, which he had refused to reveal.

Slowly, as hints of rose gold and soft splashes of pink began to appear on the horizon, hermits and SMPers headed to bed, minds buzzing with excitement and exhaustion.

They were content.

They felt safe.

They were simply unaware.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... stuff really picks up next chapter.  
> Ceruth mentioned last chapter that for variety, y'all should get popcorn, which I'm all in for so here you go.  
> *puts imaginary popcorn in an also imaginary microwave. Accidentally puts in too much and drowns everyone in endless imaginary popcorn*  
> You're welcome.


	11. Old Gold Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the sun peeks above the horizon, the enemies make their first, real move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all for the support!  
> This chapter was really fun to write, get ready for action and read on!

Techno watched the partygoers from his spot. He was currently perched on a slender Jungle Tree branch, watching the festivities beneath him, the hundreds of tiny lanterns shining like fireflies.

The others had enjoyed his firework show earlier on, and he had enjoyed their praise. But it had left him feeling burnt out and exhausted. There was simply too much going on, too much social interaction.

His mind flickered back to the last festival he has attended, way back before the fall of Manberg and he smirked. No one had died from fireworks in the current festival. Yet. He entertained himself with the idea, toying with it in his mind, but eventually got bored and focused again on the party beneath him. If he strained his ears, he could pick up some of the cheery conversations that were taking place.

"Bees!"

"How? Cinnamon isn't supposed to taste this good!"

"You are such a spoon sometimes."

"Anyway, he then took that as a challenge to code an even harder difficulty in Minecraft. It was ridiculous."

"No! Pick him up - he's going to drown! Wait. Fish can't drown."

"So yeah, he won six to four, but we're still friends and all."

"Mumbo for mayor!"

"Who threw another potato into Sahara?"

Techno raised an eyebrow, pondering if he should swoop down dramatically and point at Grian to answer the last question, but decided against it. Amusing as it was, he would have to fly up the tree again, and worse, he would bring attention to himself. He liked humour. He liked delivering the punchline to a clever joke. But all of those desires died when there were a lot of people. He didn't like social situations.

He sat comfortably, leaning against the trunk, his cloak curled comfortably around him. He considered bringing out his sword to polish it, but decided that the dampness of the moss around him would ruin the wooden hilt.

In the jungle, nights were blissfully warm, and the sky was almost always wonderfully clear. He could see the moon, a shining silver crescent, and the thousands of stars that glittered like chips of shattered glass, glinting in the darkness.

It was so peaceful.

So dark.

So quiet.

_Too quiet._

He froze.

The insects who had been chittering beside him all night had gone silent. His instincts screamed at him to arm himself, and his fingers had just brushed against the hilt of his sheathed sword when a hand clamped down on his mouth.

He tried to scream, but whoever it was wasn't letting him go so easily and the best he managed was a muffled sound that had no hope of being heard by anyone. 

Strong hands squeezed his shoulders, pinning him to the tree. He thrashed desperately in the darkness, trying to draw his weapon, but whoever was kidnapping him was smart enough to have pressed their hand firmly against his, rendering him unable to pull it away from the hilt of his sword. He could feel the strength in the coiled muscles of his captor, pressed against his own, and he knew he wouldn't be able to escape.

Regret flashed inside him. He wasn't scared for himself, he had gotten out of many dangerous situations before. But his friends. They wouldn't know where he had gone. Would they even notice his absence? Would they be in danger next?

He had to warn them.

He twisted fiercely, ignoring the nails digging in to his skin and managing to rip off a shred of his blood-red cloak, tossing it into the air and watching it flutter downwards, disappearing into the darkness.

His captors didn't seem to have noticed. Or perhaps they just didn't care. He could tell there was two of them, shadowy figures that were crouched in front of him on the branch, pinning him firmly against the trunk of the tree.

He had enough time to wonder what was going to happen, before something heavy slammed into the side of his head, and everything faded away in a haze of pain. 

* * *

Techno opened his eyes.

Pain flared inside his head, and he felt like lava was slowly pouring in through his skull, but he forced his expression to go neutral. Blank. He didn't know if anyone was watching, but it was better safe than sorry.

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

He had learned the rules of survival long ago, and he followed them. They kept him alive.

He squinted against a bright light, and tried to make sense of his current situation. He was in a room. It was a small room - a cell, he realized, with iron bars stretched on front of him. The walls and floor were all made of smooth white quartz, but outside his cell, the air was hazy and silvery, like a thick mist that covered everything.

His sword was missing from his side, and he felt unbalanced without its reassuring weight against his side.

There were shining cuffs clamped around his wrists, and he could feel them dampening his power, draining what little admin magic he had away. They were attached to a thick metal chain that curled behind him and turning, he could see that they were fused onto a metal segment of the wall.

He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious for, but the slight ache of hunger in his stomach was not a reassuring sign. He also felt cold, chilled to the bone, and even his cape held no warmth. His fingers were numb, and he curled them into fists, trying to retain every little bit of heat he possibly could.

Turning again, he noticed a small cup of water along with a piece of bread left in the corner of his cell, but years of learning self control stopped him from wolfing it down.

While he knew the chances of being poisoned were low - if his captors had wanted him dead he would have been killed already- but he couldn't bring himself to take the food. Too many risks. He wouldn't do anything else in this cell then what was strictly necessary to survive. He wasn't about to make it any easier to kill him than it already was.

Techno wondered why he was here. And, of course, where he even was. The shimmering grey mist outside reminded him of the code-scape world he had explored with Dream before, with the same mysterious, shifting, shimmering quality, but not so much dark.

He pricked his ears, hearing someone walk closer.

The pattern of the footsteps sounded oddly familiar.

The clicking of heels on the floor was a little familiar.

The sound of the person breathing was definitely familiar.

And as the person finally reached his cell, Techno found himself staring at the smug face of someone who was, indeed, very familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that, is the best cliffhanger yet. Any guesses?  
> Also, all the conversations Techno overheard were all references to either stuff that happened to the SMPers or hermits and was super fun the write. How many of them did you get?  
> For dessert y'all can have some popcorn since *glances at last chapter* I appear to have a lot of it. Almost a little too much in fact.


	12. Scarlet Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the enemies are revealed, but their intentions are not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all for the comments! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love the comments so much! Massive thank you to anyone who's commented, it's absolutely made my day!  
> Plus, y'all got the references!  
> *proud author noises and throws popcorn in the air*  
> Also, Galaxy_Shard figured it out last chapter, good job :D. Hope you did well on your piano exam.  
> Read on!

Techno curled his lips, recognition glinting in his eyes right as his captor stepped into view.

_"Jschlatt."_

The man smiled coldly, gazing down at Techno. He looked exactly like Techno remembered, with his deep brown, impressively heavy-looking ram's horns curved around his head, nestled in his choppy, dark hair. His thin ears flicked backwards. His dark eyes and high cheekbones and pointed chin. His icy expression that even flames couldn't melt. The black and white suit he wore, compete with a blood-red tie. His shiny, polished black leather shoes.

A million questions burst into Techno's mind. How? Why? What? He wondered if Jschlatt would explain, but doubted it. Knowledge was power, and Jschlatt liked to be in power.

Jshlatt glared at Techno, his mouth curving slowly into a grin, but without humour. " _Technoblade_. Techno. Old friend. Just what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Techno didn't answer. He knew Jschlatt's way of talking. It was like a hunter, flushing quail. Every sentence was a minefield, and just when you thought you had gotten past the most dangerous part, you realized that he had led you right where he had wanted. Jschlatt toyed with his prey, and the only sort of success in his book had to include winning over his opponents mentally as well as physically.

Techno didn't want to play his games. He never won. Sure, Techno was smart. He and Dream were widely regarded as the most intelligent people on the server. But the way Jschlatt formulated his plans made you doubt yourself. No matter how many steps you think you were ahead of him, it's false. No one ever won but Jschlatt. The only reason why they had won the last war was because Jschlatt had lacked admin powers and Dream had managed to overpower him and exile him into the void. No one came back from the void. Yet here Jschlatt stood.

Anger flushed in Jschlatt's cold eyes. "You will answer me Techno, or you will regret it. I am in power here, don't you ever forget that."

Techno didn't speak. Nothing he said would help him, but anything could be twisted against him.

Jshlatt nodded. "I see now, thank you. I hope you'll enjoy your punishment." With that, he reached forwards and removed the glass of water from the side of Techno's cell. "In case you didn't know, you've been here for about twelve hours. I'll be back again in twelve more, with water. I hope you'll reconsider your choices." His voice was sharp with disappointment.

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Techno in a muddled silence. Techno swiped his tongue around his mouth. He was already thirsty, and internally scolded himself for not drinking the water earlier, but in reality he knew it wouldn't have made a difference.

He didn't want to give in to Jschlatt. But he also didn't intend to die for nothing. Loyalty was important. Confidence and stubbornness were also important. But needlessly, they would kill him. He didn't like Jschlatt the slightest, not after what he did to L'Manberg, to Wilbur, to Tommy, but he understood power when he saw it, and there was no doubt that here, Jschlatt was very much in control.

Techno had to understand when to give in. If he wanted his life or sacrifice to mean anything, he couldn't throw it away lightly.

He sighed and waited in silence.

* * *

Dream rubbed his eyes. Early sunlight trickled in through the blinds on his bedroom window and he yawned, thinking about the festival the day prior.

It was fun. He had talked to many hermits, and they had all seemed so friendly. Smiling, he recalled the amusing conversation he had kept up with Tango, who had dared him after the respawn code was fixed to take a run through his apparently very popular mini game, Decked Out.

He had also talked for a while with Renthedog, who preferred the name Ren. As it turned out, Ren was known for his wrestling skills, and Dream had shocked the whole table by beating him in an arm wrestling contest.

He had seen how happy Tommy and Tubbo were, the latter chatting with Xisuma about bees for the entire night and Tommy had found himself deeply intrigued by an organization run by Tango, BDoubleO and Impulse called "The Boomers", which specialized in blowing things up, an art Dream could appreciate as well.

He had recounted and even preformed some segments of the semi-famous duel he and Techno had taken part in, which resulted in a couple of the more PVP oriented hermits asking him for lessons. He had promised to think about it, but knew that in reality, he simply didn't have the time.

He had also eaten a few of Cubfan's famous cinnabuns, which were incredible, and later discovered that the secret ingredient was ancient debris. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Finally, Grian had tried to recruit him for something called "The Mycelium Resistance", which Dream had admitted was a noble name, but declined as he wasn't a huge fan of the bubbly purple fungus.

He wondered for a moment if he preferred this world over his own, but dismissed the thought. It wouldn't do him any good to wonder, he reasoned, carefully avoiding the truth because it hurt: he didn't want to know the answer. He was scared of what it meant. How could an admin prefer another world over their own?

He opened his bedroom door and nodded in greeting as he saw his friends.

"Hey."

"Good morning!"

"You're finally awake, sleepy-head."

Bad offered him a chocolate muffin, which he took gratefully, carefully starting to peel away the paper cup.

Nihachu paused. "Has anyone see Techno?"

Silence met her words.

Dream stared at her. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing did." She explained. "I just haven't seen him since the end of the fireworks during the festival."

Dream felt a cold pool of dread settle in his stomach. Techno was strong, and capable, but he wouldn't abandon his friends. Not without good reason.

Sapnap rubbed his hands together nervously. "Has no one seen him?"

There was a pause.

George tilted his head. "I saw him sitting in the tree after the fireworks."

"Me too." Tommy added.

"But not after that? Did he come back to the tower?" Dream questioned.

No one had an answer.

Dream put down his muffin, uneaten, his good mood spoiled. "Let's go find him." Worry laced his voice and the unbalance of the usually steady admin only soured the mood farther.

Wilbur nodded in agreement. "It's unlike Techno to just... vanish." The last word hung ominously in the air.

They all leaned over the side of the tower, dropping and extending their wings, swooping gracefully into the sky. Except for Tubbo, who Tommy pushed over and flailed like a panicked chicken before remembering to spread his wings, sputtering at his friend as Tommy laughed.

Dream ran over the possible scenarios in his head as he flew. What could possibly make Techno abandon his little family? Sure, they weren't related, but Dream would be lying if he said he didn't care for all his friends as thought they were. And he knew, inside the tough shell of his friend, there was a soft core.

As they reached the clearing, they spread out, swooping over the clearing in search of something.

Anything.

A flicker of familiar red caught Dream's eye and he froze, not daring to breath.

It was the same colour as Techno's favorite cloak. He walked closer, his fingers numb and peered carefully at what he had found, his heart pounding in his chest.

No doubt, a shred of fabric from Techno's cloak. A single drop of blood stained the corner.

The cloth was startlingly red against the rich green of the grass underfoot, but in Dream's eyes, the colours swirled, blending together as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. His fellow admin had been attacked. His friend had gone missing.

It wasn't fair. Everything had been going so well. He had almost fooled himself that they were safe, and happy and that nothing would ever happen to his little family again.

He raised his voice, hating the tremble in it. "Guys? Techno's in trouble."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So due to requests, y'all are getting candy this time. Someone also said pumpkin pie, for November, but for the sake of education, y'all are getting pumpkin Pi instead, which is 3.14 with a couple pumpkins.  
> *throws some imaginary numbers at a couple imaginary pumpkins*  
> *chucks a bag of skittles in your general direction*  
> Not sure what I'm supposed to do with all this imaginary popcorn, it's taking up a lot of room.  
> *glares accusingly at the popcorn*  
> Anyway it's been mentioned that y'all enjoy getting imaginary food thrown at you so I'll be continuing that. Remember to duck when you read this story. Imaginarily of course.  
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Sapphire Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno discovers a little more about his captors, and starts to prepare an escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are great :D  
> Also... uh *raises hands nervously* don't blame me but I'm supposed to give y'all asparagus.  
> *hesitantly hands out imaginary asparagus*  
> *runs away and hides*  
> Read on!

Techno raised his head dully, flickers of pain shooting up his shoulders whenever he moved, curtesy of the sharp nails of his captor the night he had been taken. They were just scratches, but they still stung and he wasn't exactly in prime condition. Twenty four hours without water has taken its toll on the fierce fighter, and his eyes had lost the passionately hostile gleam they used to have whenever he saw Jschlatt.

The ram-horned man stopped in front of Techno's cell, holding a cup of water and a thin slice of stale bread. "Techno. Would you like to tell me, is Dream still in power?"

Techno narrowed his eyes. "I won't betray my friends like that Jschlatt." His voice was even deeper than usual as he hadn't used it for a whole day.

Jschlatt smiled. "Baby steps, Techno. Baby steps. See? You've started talking. Soon, we'll be best buds and you can tell me all about the other guys."

Techno didn't answer, his eyes trained on the glass of water.

Jschlatt smirked. "You want to know why you're here Techno?"

Techno tilted his head curiously, unsure if Jschlatt was actually going to answer. "I would like to know." His voice was hoarse.

Jschlatt nodded, his eyes like two chips of ice. "You are here because you deserve it. You've wronged us, and we are going to fix everything."

Techno pricked his ears. "You said 'us'. Who's 'us'?"

Jschlatt grinned ominously. "Techno, Techno. I'm disappointed. You really thought I'd tell you something like that?" He laughed. "No. I wouldn't. But I will tell you that if everything goes to plan, which it will, you will know soon. Oh, and that I know Dream is still in power. Of course he is. But don't worry, my friend. I'll fix that."

Techno gritted his teeth. If Jschlatt wasn't going to give him water, he wouldn't beg. He wasn't that desperate yet. Instead, he would find out as much as he could. "How did you even find me?"

Jschlatt nodded. "Good question, I must admit. I found you, because I led you here." He paused as he saw Techno's expression.

"Oh yes. I'm an admin Techno. I hid my power from Dream - he never knew. I linked his power up with this world. I made him open the portal here."

Techno tried to digest the information. "Why? Why couldn't you deal with this back on our world? And where even are we?"

Jschlatt nodded. "Another fair question. I have... a deal with an ally. They have their own grudges in this world. What better then to kill two birds with one stone? Or, more accurately, three?" He laughed. "And as for where we are, we're in the code. In a little pocket of safety created by an ally, between the world and the void. A fold in the code, if you will." Jschlatt inspected Techno's expression smugly. "Oh don't worry about warning your friends. They'll know soon enough. When we succeed." He bent down and placed the cup of water and bread in the corner of Techno's cell. "Here you are. I do keep my end of bargains Techno. And besides, you didn't wrong me, specifically. In fact, I quite respect your skills." Jschlatt smirked. "Of the three of us, I'm the one who has the most respect for you."

"There's three of you?"

Jschlatt laughed. "You'll meet them soon Techno. They might not like you as much as I do though, and one of them certainly isn't as merciful towards a bad attitude, so watch your words." He turned and walked away briskly, Techno watching his figure fade away into the shimmering grey nothingness. 

He wondered about what Jschlatt had called this. A fold in the code? It didn't sound easy to find. Jschlatt had also said that they were between the world and the void, although it was common knowledge that no one could survive here, as it was too close to the nothingness. Only perhaps a voidwalker could. He toyed with the thought in his mind.

Techno waited until Jschlatt's footsteps had completely faded into silence, then inspected the cup of water. It seemed safe. And besides, Jschlatt had no incentive to kill him off like this. If Jschlatt truly wanted him dead, he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of capturing Techno in the first place.

He also tried not to think about what Jschlatt had just said. Jschlatt liked to play with people's minds, drive them mad with their own thoughts. If he thought too much about it, he would play right into the hands of the enemy.

He drank the water, the cool liquid reviving his senses, then realized what the water really meant. It was a reward. Jschlatt was training him, the same way that puppies were tossed a treat when they did something good. The thought made anger boil in his stomach, but he had to play along.

To survive.

He also ate the bread. In terms of his own health, he had nothing left to lose. It was dry and crumbly, but stifled the sharp aches in his stomach.

He hoped his friends had found the shred of his cloak he had tossed down. They might at least be partially prepared for whatever Jschlatt had planned. Subconsciously, his fingers traced the ripped edge of his cloak, brushing along the torn fabric. It calmed him a little, and helped him think. Not that there was a lot to think about.

He rubbed the shackles on his wrists warily, wondering if there was some way to break them, as they were making his arms sore. He could feel them sapping away at his admin powers too, that had never changed, but he didn't really use his powers anyway, so it didn't feel any different. He tried to summon a burst of admin power, and for a surprising, hopeful moment, felt it tingle in his fingertips, before being drawn away by the cuffs. He paused, then did it again, gauging at how powerful the shackles were.

He had found something.

The shackles pulled at his energy the same amount regardless of how much power he was using. It must have been specifically tailored for him, tugging at his energy reserve just the right amount to not kill him, but render him powerless.

He smiled.

Luckily for him, he had never reached his full power potential yet. If he practiced, trained, explored his boundaries, he could hope to be able to overpower the shackles.

And then what?

Make a portal?

He couldn't do that, not just because he wasn't powerful enough, but because a portal required a physical block or object to focus an admin's power on. There was nothing here he could use. The blocks making up the cell around him were coded. Normal blocks were too, but he could sense that the ones around him were different, created purely from the powers of an admin, held in place even now by a constantly draining source of magic. He wouldn't be able to modify those.

The chains were infused with some sort of void energy, he could sense that's how they could drain his power. He wouldn't be able to overpower the chains, they would fight him every step of the way.

That left the empty void-like blankness outside. He had an idea of what it was - some sort of void magic that held their little "bubble" together, but he was fairly sure it didn't count as a real block.

He hated being trapped in the tiny cell, but now at least he had something to work towards. He summoned another burst of energy in his palm.

He would worry about what to do with the power while he trained.

He focused and created another streak of power. It faded away as soon as it appeared.

It was tiring. Physically and mentally. He felt a surge of respect for Dream, for mastering this ridiculous skill.

Again.

And again.

He stamped down the pain and exhaustion. He was doing something to help his situation. He could only hope that somewhere beyond the endless glittering gray his friends were prepared.

Techno sighed and prayed silently. Prayed to the blood god, for the safety of his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh. So there's 3 baddies. Jschlatt is one obviously. Y'all basically know the second one because I've been dropping hints literally everywhere. The third one will be unexpected.  
> I absolutely love reading all the theories im the comments, they're just so entertaining.  
> Also, of all these characters from both servers, I only watch four of them regularly. I hope it's not too obvious in my writing, can you guys tell who they are? Just curious.  
> Thanks so much y'all :D


	14. Indigo Purple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two powerful admins on one server. If they don't get along, they could destroy the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this originally as a super long chapter, which is why it took me a while, but then I didn't like how it connected so it's now two shorter ones. Second part still needs to be checked over though, so it's coming tomorrow.  
> Also, I was reading the comments y'all left and legit started snort-laughing on some of them. This is officially my source of high-quality entertainment now. Also, love the guesses y'all have on who and what's to come.  
> I must say one thing tho:  
> The baddies do not include Grian-specific enemies. Some of you were pretty excited about that, and I didn't want y'all to get your hopes up too high before trampling them. So uh yeah.  
> Sorry but not sorry. I have a plan and I'm sticking to it.  
> That said, please read on!

Dream glared fiercely at Xisuma. "What proof do you have that it wasn't one of the hermits?!"

The two admins were alone in one of Xisuma's towers, the early morning sun casting long rays of golden sunlight through the jungle. Dream had just informed Xisuma of Techno's disappearance.

"They were all present during the festival. You may even recall talking to a few of them yourself." Xisuma spoke calmly, despite Dream's accusing shout.

Dream opened his mouth to snap back, then paused, closing it again. "You're right." He admitted, his voice softening. I'm sorry for shouting, I'm just really worried."

Xisuma placed a hand gently on Dream's shoulder. Dream normally didn't appreciate human contact, but the other admin was so soft and gentle that he didn't even flinch. Xisuma tilted his head. "I can send out search parties. And if you make a list with your friends of everyone you saw after the firework show, we can ask the hermits you didn't mention about where they were. I'm sure they aren't guilty - no hermit would do such a thing, but we can check with them to make you feel better."

Dream nodded numbly. "Thanks."

Xisuma was silent for a moment, then turned back to Dream. "You think this has to do with the glitches?"

Dream winced. "I would hope not."

"I can't help but link them together. Because they turned respawn off, there's no way for Techno to escape." Xisuma glanced at Dream as if realizing that his words weren't exactly helping with Dream's panic, his eyes glinting with reassurance. "We'll find him. I haven't know him for very long, but he's a survivor. He'll live off his wits, if not anything else."

Dream was still unconvinced, but he nodded, appreciating his fellow admin's support. "I - I know."

Xisuma rose. "I'll go put together a few search parties. We'll scout the jungle and expand outwards from there."

Dream paused for a moment, then reached up to his own face and closed his fingers on the side of his mask. He felt nervous, but he believed it was a gesture of trust and friendship that Xisuma would understand. He had been so sharp and demanding towards the other admin that it felt wrong to not trust him on a more personal level. He hesitated for a moment, and for the second time since they had met, revealed his face to his fellow admin.

Realization glinted in the emotionally intelligent eyes behind the visor, and after a heartbeat, Xisuma removed his own helmet.

They stared at each other for a moment. It lasted only a second, but felt like a lifetime, and each of them relived the moment in which their minds had been connected in the code, only two days ago. Dream drew in a shaky breath, his green eyes flickering. Xisuma smiled self-consciously at his own brilliantly purple ones.

Dream returned the smile. He could trust Xisuma. He hoped that Xisuma felt the same way. If they were going to get anything done, it had to be like this. Two top level admins on the same sever. It had never been attempted before, but he had a hunch that if a peaceful share of power was to be achieved, the two would have to trust each other with their life.

He would find Techno. He decide which server he really liked better. And perhaps, he had a bright future to look forwards to, in which his friends were safe.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, all the player's on the server were gathered in the town hall of the shopping district. Xisuma and Dream stood near the front, the rest of the players making a loose circle around them.

Xisuma glanced around at all the players, meeting each one's gaze with his glittering purple eyes. He had an unnervingly accurate way of reading people, and Dream watched his intelligent eyes curiously.

"So, Techno's gone missing. Dream found a little bit of his cloak with a drop of blood, so he's also wounded. He vanished sometime after the fireworks, but not much else is known." Xisuma's voice swept over the room. His voice wasn't loud or sharp, but had such a natural feeling of power that no one dared ignore it.

False hefted her sword, her piercing blue eyes scanning the room. "Do we have any suspects?"

The players around her, Mumbo and Bad ducked nervously away from her blade, the latter almost dropping a blueberry muffin his was holding.

Xisuma shook his head. "An admin, I guess, since it probably has to do with the glitches from before, but you all know Dream and I would never do such a thing. And Techno wouldn't have captured himself. In fact, Techno's not nearly good enough at manipulating the code to even cause the glitches that we found."

False sheathed her weapon, looking slightly disappointed. "How do we sign up for search parties?"

Dream held up a sheet of paper. "Just come sign up here and mark off where you're covering. Groups of three or more so no accidents happen."

The hermits and SMPers nodded. Bad picked nervously at his muffin, offering one do Nihachu who stood beside him. She accepted and nibbled at it half-heartedly, her slender fingers shaking.

Tommy stepped forwards defiantly, his stormy blue-grey eyes blazing intensely. "I'll go with a search party."

Tubbo, for some reason, looked unenthusiastic at the idea, but raised his hand anyway. "I'll go too then."

Wilbur nodded seriously. "Nihachu and I will go with them as a group of four."

Dream scribbled names down frantically on his sheet of paper.

"Count me in." Keralis requested, and he, Xisuma, Mumbo and Grian made up another party.

Joe hills, Cleo and Bad made the third and Sapnap, George and Iskall made up the last one. The remaining players would be on alert, ready to swoop in to help if any group signalled for help on their communicator. Xisuma had worked tirelessly overnight with Iskall, Tango and Mumbo to develop a new feature: a small, red panic button that sent out a help signal and coordinates of a player's current location into the chat when it was pressed.

It certainly caused some relief, but not enough to muffle the tension sparking in the air.

Dream spread his elytras and leaned against the wind, ready to take off with his group, and prayed silently.

Prayed to the blood god, whom he had heard Techno reference so many times, to keep his friend safe.

Praying for some sort of sign that his friend wasn't already dead.

Praying that he wouldn't be too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh. Next chapter important stuff happens. Be ready. *starts dramatic music*  
> Also, someone asked for either rockets or smarties (the candy I'm not about to go ask NASA for a fancy flying machine) so uh I'm going to overachieve and give y'all both since smarties are actually a chocolate candy in some places.  
> *chucks one imaginary rocket and one imaginary smartie at each person. Like not one packet, but legit one candy*  
> Enjoy!


	15. Blood Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is not having a good time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *evil laughter*  
> I enjoyed writing this chapter.  
> Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did making it. Read on!

Dream winced at how sore his shoulders were from flying all day, but gritted his teeth and continued. It was nearing nighttime - they had been searching for a whole day with nothing to show for it. Gold and soft oranges streaked the horizon, fading into deep blossoms of blue and black as he watched. Stars began to shimmer into existence, and a thin, elegantly curved moon gleamed above his head.  
He had just sent the rest of his group ahead. They were tired, and deserved rest.

But he couldn't convince himself to go home. He was sure they were missing something, sure that they had overlooked a critical clue. They had scoured the edge of the clearing where Techno's cloak scrap had been found, checked in the branches of the tree where Techno had sat, and systematically scanned the lush jungle plants surrounding it. He had memorized every drooping leaf, the tilt of every slender stem, yet he had nothing. Techno had simply vanished. He kicked a pebble in frustration and gave a hoarse shout of anger, then sat down furiously on a fallen log to think.

He tried to piece together the things he had found. Any clues, trials, leads. Nothing.

There was literally nothing to base any theories off of.

He felt like screaming, but knew that it wouldn't help. He needed answers, and certainly the rest of the server did not need to see him so out of control.

A rustle in the bushes.

Instantly, Dream was on alert, and he sprang up, his gleaming diamond axe gripped tightly in his hand, his knuckles white. "Who's there!"

The rapidly darkening jungle suddenly felt a lot bigger.

A pause.

Tubbo stepped out of the bushes, looking slightly alarmed. He raised his hands frantically when he nearly walked into Dream's axe. "It's just me! Don't kill me!"

Dream lowered his weapon, the polished surface reflecting the sky that was peppered with stars. His heart was pounding in his chest. "Sorry. I'm just pretty wound up right now."

Tubbo dipped his head. "As you should be. Anyway, I saw your group come back without you, just wanted to check that you're okay."

Dream sighed. The soft glow of the sunset reflected in Tubbo's eyes, making them glitter with golden flecks. "About as okay as one can be in this situation."

Tubbo nodded. "So, uh, you're alone here? Have you told anyone how long you're saying for?"

"No. I don't really know myself." Dream's voice was so quiet that Tubbo almost didn't hear his reply.

A pause.

"Well, uh, I'll be going now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Dream nodded distractedly, his eyes unfocused as he crossed off scenarios as quickly as he came up with them in his head. He needed an answer.

Tubbo flapped his elytras and leapt upwards, vanished into the rapidly darkening sky. He glanced backwards, and could just barely see Dream's hunched figure from between the dappled layers of thick leaves, then tore his gaze away and flew onwards.

* * *

Dream rubbed the razor-sharp edge of his axe. It calmed him, and helped him think. He had been sitting on the log for a little under an hour, and his fingers were cold, despite the warmth of the jungle. He was cold. It was like the misery that radiated off of him had lowered the temperature around him, incasing him in a coffin of ice. Yet the night was as thick as cream, the humid air wrapping firmly around him, muffling his senses. He felt almost as if he was underwater, completely immersed in a different world.

But wait.

Something felt off.

He lifted his head, scanning his surroundings. He was in pitch blackness, almost as rich and deep as that of the code world, and the only direction in which he could see anything was straight up where he could catch a glimpse of a few small, cold stars from between the layers upon layers of leaves.

Everything felt normal. So what had spooked him? He was a hunter, a fighter, someone trained to follow their senses. And he could tell that something wasn't right. He just didn't know what. He strained his eyes, mentally cursing at the fact that he didn't have a night vision potion. He couldn't see anything - he might as well have been blind.

His fingers tightened their grip on the hilt of his axe.

Maybe he should have left. But the chances of him crashing hard into a tree was high, and truth to be told, he was a little curious to see what would happen if he stayed.

Was that what Techno had thought too? Dream felt a pang of fear, unlike anything he had felt before. He had to remind himself that he no longer had admin powers in this world. He still had his energy reserve and such, but had to re-learn modifying the code, something he hadn't done yet. He was confident in his own skills, but someone possibly in every close proximity to him has bested Techno in such a way that the pink haired man had been unable to even scream.

Would he have time to scream?

Panic flooded him, and he suddenly remembered the red button Xisuma had attached to his communicator. He raised his wrist, placing his hand over the button.

He turned around, his axe ready, his ears pricked for any sounds. His heart thudded almost painfully in his chest, and he could hear every beat loudly as it echoed in his head.

Nothing.

And then something.

Something moved to his left. He turned, wondering if he should press the button, knowing that even if he did, help would take time to get to him. Every heartbeat felt like his heart would burst out of his chest. The humid night air suddenly felt suffocatingly dark.

The sound of snapping twigs to his right. He hefted his axe, facing the noise, confused. He was sure that before the sound was to his left. He around, disoriented, unsure even which way was left or right, feeling like he was surrounded.

And then someone tackled him, throwing him violently to the ground. He pressed the button frantically, then swung his axe at his attacker. He felt it connect, but from the grunt of pain he heard and how it felt, guessed that he had grazed someone. Not nearly enough to kill them though. He was instantly in defence mode, facing the player he had just wounded, readying his axe for another blow, a killing blow, when he heard footsteps behind him.

He tried to turn in the pitch darkness, but wasn't fast enough. He opened his mouth to scream, and a hand clamped firmly over it, reducing any noise he tried to make to silence. At the same time, he felt a cold, sharp pain in his shoulder, accompanied by the feeling of hot blood. Arms wrapped around his chest, holding him in place, and he could hear the click of chains as heavy shackles closed around his wrists, which were pinned behind him. He tilted his head and discovered that there was just enough silvery light from the stars to see the glint of a sword, half of it buried in his shoulder. It was as cold as ice, but horrifyingly numb at the same time. He could feel the strength draining rapidly from his limbs, warm blood soaking through his hoodie, and was surprised when he felt a hand press firmly against his wound, holding the blade in place and effectively stopping him from bleeding out. The world spun around him, a horribly disorienting feeling in the utter darkness, and he could feel himself start to slip away.

He could hear the quiet voices of his capers as they spoke to each other, too weak to do anything but lay limply in their grasp.

"How badly did he get you?"

"Just a graze, I'll be fine."

"Try not to bleed everywhere."

"It's fine. He's already gotten blood everywhere. It's not going to be a clean crime scene like last time."

"Hey I didn't want to stab him, but he would've gotten you."

"Well hopefully he doesn't bleed out before we can get him back to the bubble."

They were tightening the chains around his wrists, one of them still holding the sword in his wound, their hand pressed firmly against his shoulder. He recognized one of their voices, but in his almost delirious, half-unconscious state, couldn't really think about it.

"Did he press this button? Looks like a panic button. Reinforcements might be on their way."

He could feel them unclasping his communicator and removing it from his wrist. He definitely knew one of the voices.

"I think so. Let's get him back to the bubble."

"Careful. He's still awake."

"I've got that. He won't be for long."

His barely awake mind finally put a name to one of the voices.

Jschlatt.

He didn't have the energy to comprehend that discovery.

Bright, brilliant pain.

And then all his senses melted away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh that happened.  
> Yup.  
> Also, some people wanted lasagne, and some want croissants, so y'all can have croissant lasagne, which is apparently a real thing according to google.  
> *throws the imaginary platter of croissant lasagne at y'all and re-evaluates my life choices that have led to this moment*  
> Heh.  
> *adds some imaginary popcorn into the mix*  
> Have fun.


	16. Lemon Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream finds Techno, but not in the way he would have hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are getting suspicious of certain characters while I laugh in the background when you're right, and when you're wrong.  
> Read on!

Dream drifted back into consciousness, immediately aware of a sharp pain shooting through his shoulder, hot and burning like a flame. His eyes were still closed, and he could tell that he was in a sort of slumped sitting positon, his back against a cold, smooth wall.

He tried to remember what had happened, and after a fearful moment of nothingness, the events of the jungle fight flooded back into his mind. He had been stabbed.

He had been captured.

And one of his captors was Jschlatt.

He didn't really understand the last one. Jschlatt was defeated. Gone. But apparently not.

He winced, and pricked his ears, trying to gauge as much as he could about his surroundings before opening his eyes. His shoulder still pulsed painfully, but he could feel a tight bandage wrapped around the wound. It wouldn't kill him. Yet, at least.

The shackles were still clasped around his wrists, but seemed to be attached to their own separate chains as his hands weren't connected. They drained his admin energy, leaving him feeling empty and hollow. They were cold, and heavy, and he intensely disliked the feeling of them pressing against his skin.

He felt exposed. His armour was gone, and so was his axe.

But most of all, his mask. The open air pressing against his face sparked panic in his mind, and he tried to breathe evenly. He had willingly removed his mask in front of Xisuma, and he normally didn't mind doing so with Techno who knew exactly what he looked like and whom he trusted with his life, but being forced to open to someone, having his mask taken away, was something he hated.

Speaking of Techno, he wondered if he was at where Techno was.

Hesitantly, he opened his eyes.

He was in a cell, made of white quartz, easily large enough to fit at least two of him. It wasn't really big, but in terms of confinement he had seen smaller.

The chains on his shackles coiled behind him, attached to a gleaming metal portion of the wall. He was separated from the outside by a wall of metal bars, and on the other side was what he could only describe as a shimmering grey nothingness that seemed to stretch on forever. It reminded him of the code scape. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to give his still throbbing shoulder some relief. He could see that the sword had been removed, and his wound had been bandaged, but judging at how much it still hurt, he guessed that he had not received any sort of healing potion.

It hurt. A lot.

He winced, turning slightly so that his other shoulder was the only one touching the wall, and breathed a slight sigh of relief as the pain dimmed.

He froze as he heard scuffling coming from outside his cell. It sounded like chains scraping on quartz, which he would know as he had heard his own chains make the sound a moment ago when he had moved.

And then, from someone near him, outside his cell, a familiar monotone voice called out.

"Dream?"

Dream lifted his head, hope sparkling in his eyes. He couldn't recall ever being so glad to hear anyone's voice, not even when he had woken up two days ago to discover all his friends safe and sound. "Techno?!"

He heard another scuffling sound, then the clank of metal meeting metal. Techno's voice sounded closer this time.

"You're awake! Can you come to the bars?"

Dream winced and dragged himself over to the front of his cell and discovered that by pressing his face against the cold bars, he could just barely see Techno who was doing that same, in a cell right next to his. His green eyes met Techno's startlingly bright blue-grey ones. He found himself smiling, unable to contain himself, smiling at his friend who he had worried about, feared for, during the last day.

True, they might still die. True, they were in a cell. True, they were at the mercy of someone Dream had hoped never to hear of again.

But he had found his friend. He wouldn't be alone.

Techno smiled back, a rare moment of happiness gleaming on the pink haired man's face, and that moment told Dream just how much Techno cared for him, then quickly converted it into a serious frown. 

"They hurt you. How bad?"

Dream winced and wondered if it was worth lying. He decided that it wasn't. "They got me pretty good on my shoulder. Probably would have died, but I think they want us alive."

Techno nodded, frowning. "That is likely the case. You know Jschlatt's one of them, right?"

Dream dipped his head. "I do, but how?!" He whispered furiously. "He was cast into the void! I was there! I did it! I saw him fall!There's no way he should have survived!"

Techno rubbed the iron bars nervously, his sharp, blue-grey eyes the same colour as the cold, gleaming metal. "I think one of them is a Voidwalker. It... fits all the theories I have."

Dream blinked. "Please elaborate."

Techno picked at his cuffs distractedly while he spoke. "Jschlatt told me that we're in a bubble, between the world and the void. Admins can't do that. The void would kill us. He also said that he has two allies, three of them in total, so one of them could totally be a Voidwalker."

Dream nodded slowly. "That does kind of make sense."

"He also said that the three of them each are -uh- connected to one of us. They each have their own grudges to settle."

Dream narrowed his eyes. "You think Jschlatt is here for me?"

"I mean... you did cast him into the void intending permadeath."

Dream sighed. "Any ideas on who's here for you?"

Techno shrugged. "I dunno. That's where my theory falls apart. I can't remember anyone I've met who explicitly would intensely hate me. I mean, I have plenty of enemies, but none who genuinely dislike me this much."

Dream slid his hand between his face and the iron bars, relieving his cheek of the biting cold. "What about that one kid you spent nine months beating in potato count?"

Techno gave a bark of laugher. "Friendly competition. His only true enemy is sleep deprivation from all that farming."

Dream chuckled. "You averaged more hours than him. I remember we would beg you to sleep, and you'd say yes, but the next morning you'd be still farming, half-awake."

"Ah yes, the good old days."

Dream laughed, but quickly stopped as it made his shoulder hurt.

Techno glanced at him. "I do have a few more things to say."

Dream motioned for him to continue, then remembered that from Techno's angle, his hands weren't visible, and nodded instead.

Techno drew in a breath. "I think Xisuma's next."

Dream tilted his head. "Because he's an admin?"

"Yes. And the fact that he had a rift with someone."

Dream blinked. "How do you know that?"

"Remember when I asked him if his world had more admins? He said two and refused to elaborate on the second one. He definitely cared about them, and either they were hurt by whoever he's mad at, or they betrayed him."

"Oh. How do you read people like that?"

Techno tilted his head, eyes glittering. "As I've said before, I almost majored in psychology. I've studied how people think."

"That's... unsettling."

"You're just jealous." Techno stuck out his tongue childishly, his voice teasing, and Dream laughed, trying not to move his wounded shoulder in the process.

Techno reverted back to his expressionless, serious face. "Also, I have an idea on escape. These chains are tailored for each of us, and they drain us constantly, but always the same amount and - "

"- You haven't peaked yet!" Dream finished excitedly. "If you trained, you could overpower them!"

Techno smirked. "You better start teaching me."

"And then what? Once you can overpower them?"

"A portal. I'll make a portal."

"Dream rubbed his hands together. "You need a solid block to channel your energy, and then somewhere to focus it on."

Techno paused. "I think - you told me once that when an admin's far away from anything, the easiest place to teleport to is the portal in the end dimension."

Dream nodded. "It is. I don't know if the hermits have cleared the dragon though. If they haven't, we'll get murdered by it the moment we go through."

"They have elytras."

"Well yeah, but they could have snuck past it. I've done that before. _So_ much easier than the dragon fight."

Techno shrugged. "I guess we just hope then." He smirked. "Nothing we can do about that."

"We don't have a solid block either."

"... We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Dream grinned.

No matter how terrible and hope-based, they had a plan.

They _would_ escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please pretend that in this universe the portal in the the end is open without defeating the dragon bc I literally could not find a way around that.  
> Also, the food requests are getting weirder and weirder. My new hobby is combining them and serving them to y'all.  
> So cheese, potatoes and onions were requested and ngl, that sounds delicious. So y'all can have a dish that includes all three, which I will creatively name "cheesy onion potatoes".  
> *throws imaginary platter of cheese and onion covered potatoes at y'all*  
> Enjoy.


	17. Ebony Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xisuma placed his trust in the wrong person. 
> 
> Ultimately, everyone did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh 5k hits what?!? This is crazy! Thank y'all so much, and it means a lot to mean that y'all are enjoying this little story :D  
> I usually spend about an hour a day on it, and I'm permanently ahead by one chapter so it gives me time to digest it and really make sure there's no plot holes, as well as change stuff I want.  
> Thanks to everyone, and read on!

"Xisuma!"

The urgent whisper caught the admin's attention, and he turned around to find its source.

Tubbo. The young boy stood nervously at the entrance to Xisuma's private tower, the one he lived in, his cheeks the same rosy colour as the sunrise behind him. His elytra wings were slightly open, fluttering in the morning breeze that twirled around the opening of the tower. 

Xisuma tilted his head curiously. "Hello Tubbo. Can I be of help?"

Tubbo met his gaze frantically. "Xisuma - Dream's missing!"

Xisuma froze. "When? How? Who already knows?"

Tubbo winced. "Everyone. We're meeting where his coordinates are - he pressed the button but when we got there it was too late."

Xisuma strapped on his wings as quickly as he could and glanced at Tubbo. "Lead the way."

Tubbo leaped over the edge, his wings spreading to pull him into a steep glide, and Xisuma followed, dodging trees and his other towers as they streaked through the jungle. It was very early morning, the horizon along the east was a ripe, peachy gold streaked with creamy orange and the slightest hints of soft pink. The world was still mostly dark, only the tallest trees starting to lighten as the tip of the sun peeked above the edge of the mountains in the distance.

The delicate but dramatic beauty seemed almost taunting, its glorious power beyond his grasp. The sun would rise, no matter what happened. It would rise whether they were alive or not. It would rise, on and on.

Their days all seemed so ridiculously short, so horrifically meaningless. The lives of both Dream and Techno were on the line, yet the sun had time to crawl slowly over the mountains, exposing the world to its flourishing beauty.

Xisuma exhaled and focused on following Tubbo. _He_ would give his life meaning. It existed for him, and him alone, and he would make something out of it.

Tubbo banked suddenly, his wings folding inwards and he dropped like a stone towards a tiny clearing in the still dark jungle, flicking them out again at the last moment and landing smoothly. Xisuma followed. He blinked as he landed, immediately noticing the lack of players. "Tubbo, where is everyone?"

Tubbo glanced at him, the younger boy's bright blue eyes unreadable.

Xisuma turned and froze.

Blood.

Not a lot, but definitely dried blood, splattered carelessly over the grass and halfway onto a nearby fallen log.

He whirled back around to Tubbo, his wings already halfway spread. 

"We need to get out of here!" He said urgently, before the realization hit him as he saw at the guilt flashing wildly in Tubbo's bright eyes and he stared at the younger boy with a horrified expression. Instantly, admin energy was wreathing around his hands, shining silvery grey mist, and the shimmering shape of his sword appeared in his fingers. It solidified, the hilt a polished deep brown, the diamond blade gleaming like polished crystal, reflecting the last few golden fragments of light from the horizon.

He heard footsteps and turned slowly. Too slowly. Another player, one unfamiliar to him was right behind him, taking him by surprise, and as he turned, clasped a heavy pair of shackles onto his wrists. The result was instantaneous, his powers draining away, leaving him feeling oddly unbalanced. His sword was still there, it was a real object that he had simply called to his side, but the slight hum of power at the tips of his fingers was gone, replaced by a heavy stillness. It had been part of him for so long, that he had completely forgotten that it was a sign of admin powers. It was like wearing sunglasses for a long time, then taking them off and realizing just how vibrant and bright and colourful the world was. Except this was bad. 

Shock flickered inside him and he glanced at the new player who was a little taller than him, with choppy dark hair, and an impressive pair of ram's horns sprouting from the sides of his head, polished and gleaming. Xisuma struck out with his sword, hands pinned together by the cuffs, but managed to swing his blade towards the other player's exposed chest. In a flash, an axe shimmered into existence in the new player's hand and blocked the blow, leaving Xisuma startled.

"You're an admin!" His voice was tinged with surprise.

"Yes I am. Now I suggest you come willingly, or we might have a problem." He reached out and took Xisuma's sword casually, wrenching it forcefully from his fingers. He also unclasped the communication bracelet from Xisuma's wrist and slipped it into his own pocket. The newcomer's voice was cold and commanding, leaving Xisuma no doubt he would carry out with whatever he threatened.

Xisuma narrowed his eyes and paused. He was too far away from anyone to call for help - Tubbo had evidently done his part well.

He had to hope that Iskall, Tango and Keralis remembered the secret plan he had hatched with them the night before. He had guessed he and Dream might have been in danger, guessed that there was a spy among them, but the masked man hadn't yet come back, and besides, it was a secret plan. And so Dream was oblivious to it. Now, he wondered if Dream had even been taken, but judging from the blood, guessed so.

He glanced at the newcomer. "Fine. Let's go."

The new player smirked and glanced at Tubbo. "He went easier than I would have thought, after what you said."

Tubbo shrugged, his eyes glittering sadly as he met Xisuma's steady purple gaze. "I'm sorry Xisuma. It's not about you, personally, at least not for me."

Xisuma tilted his head, trying to stay calm. "That made no sense. Tubbo, why are you working with... whoever this is?"

Tubbo grimaced. "They made me a promise. For revenge. I had to, Xisuma." His blue eyes held a fractured light as he spoke, as if in a trance, his voice lowered to an agressive whisper. "It's the right thing to do. You'll understand one day."

Xisuma could sense the reference to a bitter history, an old story. He didn't understand it, but Tubbo had been wronged, betrayed perhaps. And he was angry, hungry for revenge.

Xisuma wondered why they wanted him then. He has a guess. Tubbo mentioned wanting revenge on someone. And there was a certain someone Xisuma could think of that might want revenge on him.

He winced, hoping that he was wrong.

Xisuma's captor smiled venomously, his eyes glittering like chips of ice. "Take off your helmet."

Xisuma narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"You are in no position to be making demands, but I'll answer it anyway. You need to drink a potion."

Xisuma was still a little confused, but he could tell that if his captor had really wanted to kill him, he'd already be dead. He lowered his head so that his captor could reach the clasp on the back of his helmet and it was removed. The world seemed a lot less purple.

The newcomer smirked and took out a potion, holding the glass bottle carefully in his fingers. It was silvery grey, sloshing hypnotically in the tiny bottle, sparking as if it had been infused with stars. He smiled coldly and popped out the cork, then held the opening of the bottle to Xisuma's mouth. "Drink. It'll knock you out, nothing more."

Xisuma hesitated for a moment, but he recognized the power dynamic. Here, he was at their mercy.

He drank it. It didn't taste like anything, light and wispy it seemed to flow like a tendril of mist.

His eyelids felt heavier.

Exhaustion bloomed inside him, weariness dragging at all his limbs.

Black patches of emptiness started to flicker into his gaze, and he already felt half-asleep. All of his senses were dulled, and he felt like he was underwater. 

He drew in a breath, glancing dully at Tubbo who was refusing to meet his gaze.

He fought it for a moment, struggling to stay awake, then he let the darkness take over.

Peace, quiet, and nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all want a feast. I don't think I've seen this kind of enthusiasm even over real food :D  
> And I am here to deliver.  
> *starts muttering ingredients at top speed and pulls out giant shopping list*  
> Alright so.  
> *chucks giant imaginary bag of Parmesan cheese at everyone*  
> *continues reading list. Pulls out imaginary mushrooms and olives and throws them at random people*  
> *throws imaginary bowl of potato and brocoli soup at the one person who wanted it*  
> *imagines a buffalo sauce covered pretzel* I've never had one before but that sounds so good I'm keeping it to myself. *carefully tucks it into the giant pile of imaginary popcorn I still have*  
> *pulls out imaginary bag of mint chocolate malted balls. Realizes how incredibly tasty they are and also keeps them. Feels bad for readers and throws everyone one each*  
> *throws some imaginary coffee crisps and "tiramisu" at y'all*  
> I'm learning so many new food words from this, I love this.  
> *accidentally contaminates imaginary food and guiltily serves some imaginary cheese curd covered watermelon*  
> *pulls out an imaginary artichoke for whoever wanted it and throws it in their general direction*  
> Also, someone wanted salt and pepper. So.  
> *dumps an absurd amount of imaginary salt and pepper over literally everything. I am covered in salt and pepper. You are covered in salt and pepper. The story is covered in salt and pepper*  
> And I thought the popcorn was bad.  
> Finally.  
> *pulls out one slice of normal bread for people who don't want to put up with the craziness*  
> Y'all can fight for it.  
> Everything is covered in imaginary salt and pepper. Send help.


	18. Teal Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the players discuss what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The comments are all just screaming at schlatt, then requesting food - I love this community.  
> Thus the next "stage" of the story begins, in which the protagonists try to fight back. This is also when there will actually be some good character interactions.  
> Read on!

Keralis paced the room, frustrated. "Where is he? It's not like him to be late."

Iskall met his gaze hesitantly, and Keralis could see all the layers, the implications Iskall was suggesting, the reference to the last time they and Tango had spoken to their admin. The secrets that Xisuma had shared with them, and his worry over the current situation.

He glanced away, unwilling to believe it. But why else wouldn't Xisuma be responding to all their messages in the chat? Why else wouldn't he be here?

Nihachu's gentle voice cut into his thoughts, laced with worry. "Is Tubbo also missing?"

Keralis glanced around, as did most of the other players in search of the bright eyed boy, but couldn't find him. The pit of unease in his stomach grew, yawning wider.

They had called a server wide meeting in the town hall to discuss the fact that Dream was now also missing - he had been taken sometime during the night. Tubbo had been on watch duty, it was his job to monitor any messages on chat and such. Nothing had come up. They had woken in the morning to discover the absence of the masked admin, and only now did it occur to Keralis that Xisuma might have been taken too. He shuddered at the thought.

Grian's voice rang out and the hermits and SMPers alike all fell silent and turned to him. "So," he began hesitantly, "what do we know as of n-why-is-everyone-staring-at-me-Mumbo-help."

Mumbo, who stood next to Grian managed a small smile. "Because you're talking."

"Oh."

Wilbur cut in, his voice laced with frustration. "We know Dream is missing. Xisuma might be too. Tubbo is gone and he was on watch duty."

"Do you think they took him so that he wouldn't be able to report Dream and Xisuma's messages?" Tommy's blue eyes were flooded with concern for his friend. 

He was fiddling with his sword, running his fingers distractedly along the edge of the blade and generally making the people around him very nervous. Doc's red cyborg eye flashed uneasily and he took a tiny step away from Tommy who somehow still hadn't cut off any of his own fingers yet.

Bad nudged Tommy and as the younger boy paused and looked upwards at him, stuck a muffin into his hand. "There. Stop playing with the sword."

Nihachu, Doc and Cubfan, who was also next to Tommy, all nodded frantically.

"Please don't. I can't focus when you do." Sapnap admitted, rubbing his hands together nervously.

Tommy frowned. "You don't mind when Techno does it."

Instantly, the mood dropped, plunging into an icy depth at the mention of their missing admin, and Keralis could tell from the horrified look on Tommy's face that he regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

Keralis cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to the conversation, aware of the thankful glance Tommy sent his way. "Xisuma has been taken. But before, he shared with us a secret plan."

He reached into his pocket, bringing out a small metal device with shaking hands. There was a small screen that was displaying random, flashing numbers, and a tiny red light that flickered on and off rhythmically. The players all leaned towards him, curiosity gleaming in their eyes. Grian broke the silence first. "What is that?"

Keralis rubbed his finger along the screen nervously, noting the nonsense on the screen. "It doesn't seem to be working perfectly, but it's a tracker, focused on Xisuma. The screen is supposed to show his coordinates, and the light is his heartbeat. So that we know he's not... " he voice trailed off.

Wilbur made a noise of approval. "How did you link it up to him?"

Tango winced at the question. "Uh. We injected a metal chip into him. At his wrist. To make sure it wouldn't be removed."

Bad made a face. "That's smart, but a little... weird."

"Xisuma guessed he and Dream would be targeted next, but Dream wasn't there so we didn't do it to Dream." Keralis tapped the glitchy screen. "I don't know what this means. Typically, I would think it shows that the coordinates are outside of the world border, but... is that even _possible?_ "

George glanced at the screen. "Dream told me that admins can't do that. It's too close to the void. They would die."

Keralis glanced subconsciously at the little red light as it blinked steadily on and off. "Well that doesn't appear to be the case." His mind wandered back to something Xisuma had told him once. "Voidwalkers could survive there though, couldn't they?"

Sapnap raised an eyebrow and glanced at George, looking skeptical. "Those are a myth."

"Wait what?" Impulse sputtered. "Voidwalkers? Are a myth?" His voice was sharp with disbelief.

"Yeah. There's no proof they exist." Sapnap confirmed.

Impulse laughed, the rest of the hermits all looking faintly amused. "Xisuma is a Voidwalker! I thought you all knew that!"

Sapnap and George both looked so shocked that Keralis wanted to laugh. "His purple eyes kind of give it away. We assumed you all knew!"

Sapnap blinked slowly. "I didn't know that eye colour was a sign of Voidwalkers."

"It's not." Tango explained, somewhat calmly. "It can be. Purple eyes, specifically, are almost always signs of a Voidwalker. Other coloured eyes might be, but there's other signs too, depending on the individual."

Wilbur blinked nervously. "So does that mean that Xisuma's alive but the others aren't?" His voice was rigid with fear.

Keralis studied the red light. "I don't know, but I don't think so. They haven't killed Xisuma yet, which suggests they're wanted alive."

That didn't seem to reassure Wilbur too much. "What could they possibly be wanted for?"

"And what do they want with Tubbo?!" Tommy burst out, clearly worried for his best friend. 

The adults in the room all glanced at each other. They had all seemed to come to the same conclusion: If Tubbo had been taken because he was a witness, he likely would have been killed. Yet no one wanted to say it. To tell Tommy and watch his expression crumble. To see the hope, the light, fade from his lively blue eyes.

Keralis studied him curiously. He wondered if perhaps Tommy already knew and was simply in denial. Unwilling to admit to it out loud, because saying it would finalize it. Leave no way back. Make it seem... real.

Iskall cleared his throat. "Well, there's only one way do find out. We must carry on with the plan Xisuma left us with."

There was a little pause, as Iskall let the news sink in.

Bad chewed nervously on a blueberry muffin.

Niki tilted her head, eyes sparkling fearfully for the fate of their friends.

Tommy stared glumly ahead, the future looking dark without Tubbo.

Sapnap and George leaned against each other, still looking surprised from their earlier discovery.

False was sharpening her sword quietly. Cleo stood next to her and Stress, who occasionally would show her a potion. They were preparing, having already guessed what Iskall would say.

Joe scratched one of his beloved dogs behind his ears, gently stroking its snout.

Scar fiddled with a small chunk of magic crystal.

Grian picked nervously at his red sweater, then leaned over to brush a bit of redstone off of Mumbo's moustache, the latter looking a little embarrassed.

Tango glanced at Keralis and Iskall. They knew what Iskall would say. They were there when Xisuma had told them, there when it had been finalized, there when they had sworn to secrecy unless an emergency. Which this definitely qualified as.

Sure, they had done it before, plenty of times, but now they had to do it as quickly as possible, and without dying. Not even once, as it would be permanent.

The concept was daunting. 

Dangerous.

"We need to defeat the Ender Dragon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright.  
> *digs around in grocery bags*  
> *makes excited noise and pulls out a giant imaginary peach. Giant as in bigger than the bag. Bigger than the house. Approximately the same size as... Earth*  
> *pulls out box of imaginary chicken nuggets, with difficulty as the entire world has been squashed by a giant peach*  
> *throws imaginary loaf of banana bread, except it's literally bread with an unpeeled banana on it*  
> *finds imaginary pack of pocky* oh my gosh the memories I'm keeping this now thanks.  
> *digs out imaginary box of "c r o s s i a n t s" *  
> *finds imaginary cake topped with lemon sorbet because the lid accidentally fell off and now it's all melting help*  
> Also, someone said gruel and mashed potatoes, which I can understand, but they also said mashed carrots which I cannot respect. No mashed carrots. Ew.  
> *throws imaginary bowl of oatmeal and mashed potatoes violently*  
> *finds some imaginary spaghetti and chucks it in your general direction*  
> *pulls out cream cheese filled bagels except they also have Doritos in them because oops*  
> And finally.  
> *carefully extracts one brussel sprout from the bottom of the bag and chucks it violently towards the general direction of the hungry readers who have requested it*  
> I'm scared, there's literally a mob of readers talking about Brussel sprouts in like chapter 12. Help. They're too powerful.  
> They're coming.  
> They are unstoppable.  
> *dramatic music*


	19. Ochre Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of planning to set up the plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Food.  
> Also, note that more tags may be added as I see fit. No major changes, but possibly a few additional ones like for characters etc.  
> Read on!

Tango took a deep breath. They had a plan. They knew what to do. That was the most important thing.

After deciding on their goal: killing the Enderdragon, they had split people into groups based off of their skills.

False, with her combat skills, would lead a group of players to the Nether, to collect blaze rods.

Sapnap and George, the pair inseparable and deadly with a sword, would lead another group to hunt Endermen, to gather Enderpearls.

Finally, there was another group back at the base who would prepare for the coming dragon battle by training, learning to heal, forging weapons and brewing potions.

They had all signed up for a group.

Tango, Iskall, Mumbo, Grian, Stress, Wilbur, Niki, TFC, Joe and Cleo would be staying at base. Cleo, Niki and Mumbo would train for combat, while Tango and Iskall would try to better their communicators to work in the end. Stress had offered to teach TFC to brew potions, and he had accepted happily, glad to be of use.

Tommy would also be staying, but mostly because no one wanted to see him get hurt - he had wanted originally to go with the Endermen hunting group. He eventually accepted it and sat, grumbling on a nearby bench.

Jevin, known for his tracking skills, was valuable in hunting Endermen, along with Impulse and Zedaph, who didn't want to be separated. Doc, Ren, Wels, Beef, Scar and Cub were also going with George and Sapnap. They planned to go hunt them in warped forests, as Scar recalled seeing one while drilling into the Nether.

False would be leading Etho and Hypno, both of them talented with the bow, and Keralis, XBcrafted, Bad and Bdubs, should they need to build any temporary shelters. Bad was mainly coming because he was the only one who knew anything about preparing food, which they would need. They were a much smaller group, as the fortress was difficult to traverse in, and False preferred to travel lightly.

They all couldn't help but think of how reliant they normally where of their admins, particularly since the admins were usually some of the more talented at combat, especially Dream and Techno, although those who had seen him in action before would also argue that Xisuma could hold his ground - he was simply too nice to get into fights.

False polished her sword, watching Etho and Hypno choose arrows to stock their quivers with. She tilted her blade, her eyes following the brilliant fragments of light that reflected off the surface, dancing through the air.

She would not fail. Too much was at stake here, for too little reward. She had no idea whether their admin was alive or not, no idea if Keralis' tracker actually worked, only hopes. Hope that Xisuma was working on opening a portal soon. Hope that he wouldn't do so too early. Hope that he was alive. She was worried too, of course, for Dream and Techno, but she had only known them for a few days and so her primary concerns were for Xisuma.

She sheathed her sword, glancing around at her group mates, her eyes like a shard of shattered sky, brilliant blue like the sea.

"Will everyone be ready by tonight?"

They nodded, Etho reaching over mischievously, stealing one of Hypno's fancy tipped arrows. The corners of False's mouth twitched as she tried and failed to squash her smile.

"Alright. Prepare. We leave at dawn tomorrow."

* * *

Sapnap glanced at George nervously, the urge to talk suddenly twitching in his mouth. Stories, humour, made things easier to deal with.

"Remember that time when we tried to trap Dream's portal and he jumped off and onto the back of a horse?"

George smirked. "Or the time he used a fishing rod, a fishing rod of all things, to saddle that Strider?"

"Or the time he jumped into that little puddle of water and covered it up when we jumped down as well?"

"Or when he jumped onto a wall, mined into it and then broke the ledge just in time to get you- that was hilarious!"

Sapnap gave a mock frown. "Don't you make fun of me! You're the one who thought that the fire resistance potion he drank was a strength and told us all to run!"

"Hey! It's rude to make fun of the colourblind kid!" George pouted, amusement glowing in his eyes.

Sapnap laughed. A genuine, simple sound of happiness and for that brief moment, he could almost believe that everything would be alright.

George nudged his shoulder gently, and they watched the rest of their little Endermen hunting group prepare. Scar was chatting with Cub about some sort of magical crystals and how they could help in combat, waving his hands around in wild gesticulations.

Impulse and Zedaph were talking with Tango. Sapnap caught the words "TNT", "minimal damage to the pyramid" and "boomers", much to his confusion, and wisely decided not to comment on it.

Wels, Ren, Beef and Doc were talking quietly, occasionally testing each other's weapons by swinging them around.

George turned to Sapnap. "Remember how Dream said to me: one day the sun will rise with you, as the new king?"

Sapnap nodded. "That felt like a lifetime ago."

"It does... Well I don't _want_ it to. I want to follow, not lead. But, during this brief while at least, I want you by my side because there's no backing down. We've already lost Dream, I can't do this by myself. Will you lead with me?"

Sapnap could hear the anxiety in George's words, and he softened his voice. "Of course I will."

George beamed at him.

"I mean, if I'm not, you'll probably mess it all up." He added.

George laughed, an expression of mock anger crossing his face. Sapnap smirked, amused. "Seriously though, I'll be there for you. It's what friends are for."

"Aw you big sap."

"..."

"..."

"I see what you did there."

George gave a small nod, trying unsuccessfully to kill his smile, then turned to the rest of their group, who was now trying to test, out of curiosity, how functional Wels' knight armour was. Judging from the crooked iron sword that had been cast onto the ground, broken, he guessed that it was pretty good. 

He raised his voice. "When do you guys think you'll be ready? We want to get a move on as soon as possible."

Ren scratched his sunburnt nose, thinking for a moment. "By tonight, I think?"

The rest of the hermits nodded in agreement.

George grinned. "Get ready everyone. We leave at dawn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok... this is literally a restaurant at this point.  
> *checks menus and orders*  
> Alright.  
> *pulls out a giant mushroom* so this isn't for eating it's for crying under according to someone so enjoy that I guess.  
> *produces imaginary pile of cheese latkes* I did not know that was a thing, sounds cool. I searched them up and they look delicious *sneakily steals a couple*  
> Also, someone asked if they could eat the story and uh go ahead I guess but with the amount of food contamination, popcorn and salt and pepper, I think it's more of a health hazard.  
> *starts making more imaginary food appear*  
> *pulls out bowl of asparagus pasta* wait what why is this is thing. *chucks it as far as possible*  
> *finds more imaginary pasta and throws it randomly around*  
> *continues rummaging. Pulls out a box of precisely three pounds of chocolate, which is milk, mint and dark.* yum. And I enjoyed your ted talk. *throws chocolate around happily* y'all really like chocolate this time. *pulls out imaginary chocolate covered strawberries and tosses them around as well*  
> *finds some imaginary hot chocolate except it's literally a burnt chunk of steaming chocolate and chucks it as far away from humanity as possible*  
> *pulls out garlic bread flavoured chips because an order got mixed up* well I guess that's that. Enjoy your weird chips.  
> *delivers plate of baklava to underneath the giant peach where someone is still squashed*  
> Someone's brother wanted vodka stingers. No. Some readers are probably underage. In fact, in my county, I'm not even drinking age. So I'm pretty sure I can't legally serve imaginary alcohol.  
> Right before I posted someone asked for mint chip ice cream so...  
> *throws imaginary lump of half melted ice cream at y'all*  
> Alright. So. Someone asked for chocolate covered onions.  
> What?  
> Why?  
> Chocolate covered onions. No. That's horrible.  
> I have lost all my faith in humanity. We, as a species, deserve to go extinct.
> 
> *ponders existence*
> 
> *accidentally falls asleep instead*


	20. Eggshell White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things keep going downhill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are so nice oh my gosh.  
> I've gotten some comments that are like "make sure to take care of yourself and get yourself some food u want" and I feel so loved by a bunch of people I've never met before <3  
> Thank y'all for the kind words, and don't worry, I do take health and stuff quite seriously. I'm just really efficient at writing when I'm inspired I guess, and I can write one chapter a day no problem.  
> Read on!

Dream nodded at the silvery wisp of power that twirled in Techno's palm. The pink haired man grimaced in pain, trying to keep up a steady flow of energy, and Dream felt as if he was being stabbed all over again seeing his friend in pain.

As Techno had expected, Xisuma had been next, and the other admin's cell was on the other side of Techno, rendering Techno in the middle which made it a lot easier for them both to give advice. However, even now, a full day after Xisuma showing up, Dream couldn't believe that Tubbo would betray them. But Xisuma claimed to have seen it with his own eyes, and Dream knew that Xisuma was not one to lie.

Techno winced, his sides heaving for breath, and slumped into a barely sitting position, his back against the wall. Perspiration glistened on his forehead, and he raised a hand weakly to wipe it away. Both Dream and Xisuma had tried to tell Techno to slow down, but the pink haired warrior refused, pushing himself to his very limits, unable to let himself stop after knowing that he was virtually their only hope of escape. Already, Techno was getting stronger, but Dream knew that it would take a lot more to open a portal. It was simply a promising start.

Xisuma's voice rang out. "Tubbo's coming!"

Instantly, Techno forced himself to sit a little straighter, despite the pain that Dream knew he was in and he felt an overwhelming surge of pride, respect and sorrow for his friend. No one should have to go through so much. But if one person could, without breaking, if would be Techno.

He swallowed and focused on composing himself as well. He was still self conscious of his scar, but now, with so many more horrible things to worry about, he rarely thought about it and he found that he didn't really care as much.

Xisuma was also making do without his helmet, and Dream could always see his own insecurities reflected in the other admin's brilliant purple gaze.

The light footsteps of Tubbo reached his ears and he tried to keep his emotions in check. He felt confused. Shocked.

Betrayed.

Tubbo came into view, his sharp blue eyes cold as ice. "Dream. Technoblade. Xisuma."

"Tubbo." Techno greeted him weakly, uncertainty underlaying his tone.

Tubbo whirled around, fire burning in his gaze, a sudden passion adding vivid fury to his expression. " _You_."

Techno paused, at a loss for words. "Me?"

"You don't understand, do you. It's your fault."

Techno narrowed his eyes, realization dawning in their greyish depths. "You blame me for killing you."

"Well duh!" Tubbo drew in a trembling breath. "You could have chosen another way. You could have taken them on. But you went the easy route. You followed Jschlatt's orders." A thin, angry smile curved on his lips. "Just as I am now."

Dream pressed himself closer to the bars. "Tubbo, there's respawn. No harm was done."

Tubbo turned to face him, his voice soft and deadly. " _No harm done_?" Dream could hear the potent venom behind his words.

"No harm done?! It was my first death Dream! I - It hurt! Just because I could come back meant that my life could be toyed with? And none of you noticed that when I came back, I was different. None of you were worried that it took me an entire extra day to return. You didn't even notice that Jschlatt had given me admin powers!" He ignored the look of surprise on Dream's face.

"None of you except Tommy." His grip tightened on the bee charm he still held in his fist. "He cared. He noticed. He didn't know why, but he knew that I wasn't the same. I'm going to fix everything. For him."

Xisuma tilted his head. "You really think this is the way to do it?" There was an edge to his voice.

Tubbo turned to him, his anger dimming slightly for a moment. "I'm sorry Xisuma. It.. it wasn't your fault. You aren't here because of me." He swallowed, his eyes bright. "I think something needs to change. Dream and Techno can't remain as admins. And I think this is the only way to do it."

"What even are you trying to do?"

Tubbo set his jaw. "Convert your power. Schlatt thinks that he has a way to take someone's admin power."

Dream shook his head. "That's not possible."

Tubbo smirked. "I guess you'll just have to see for yourself then."

Techno was silent. Dream opened his mouth, about to speak, when he heard footsteps and blurted out "Someone else is coming!"

Xisuma lifted his head, a turmoil of emotions flashing across his face. He recognized who it was, even before they reached his cell. Dream had a clear view of the newcomer, however, and curiously noted how similar he was to Xisuma. He wore a red shirt, but he also had a helmet, with a red visor that reflected like rubies in his eyes. A sword was slung casually at his side, and his gaze held the same careful wariness that Xisuma's did.

When Xisuma spoke, his voice was controlled, void of any emotion.

"Ex."

Ex smiled. "Xisuma. Brother."

Xisuma narrowed his eyes. "Don't call me that. You lost your privilege to do so when you tried to hurt my friends." His voice sounded broken, but his steady gaze was unwavering.

Dream felt a start of surprise, but decided that everyone had their own secrets.

Ex shook his head. "Well it doesn't matter. We're going to achieve what you could not. I will show your friends how a leader should behave." His eyes flashed with contempt. "I'll rule them with true power."

Xisuma stared at him. "Can you not keep our conflicts between us? Why must you bring the rest of the server into this? What have they done to you?"

Ex bared his teeth in an expression close to a snarl. "They drove me out! They twisted you, made you choose them over me! They treat you like a servent! An admin isn't a slave, Xisuma, an admin is a leader. And I intend to show them how I lead."

Xisuma paused, his gaze steady. "I'm sorry." He said at last.

Ex tilted his head. "What?" Confusion muffled the hostility in his voice for a moment.

"I'm sorry. Sorry that you never got to understand what friendship was. Never got to talk with someone who understood you."

"I don't want your pity." Ex spat, his voice like the jagged edge of a shattered mirror. "And if that last one it true, it's your fault. You should have been the one to understand me the most." The sharpness of his words hid the pain in his voice.

Xisuma dipped his head wordlessly.

More footsteps. Dream raised his head, eyes glittering. He knew who was coming.

He saw the familiar ram's horns. The familiar smirk. Perhaps the one person he had hated the most, the one he most gladly would have banished to the void on any given day. The one he has assumed he would never see again.

"Jschlatt."

Schlatt smiled. "Look at us! We're like a little family!"

Techno tilted his head. "I'm not sure how you're defining family, Schlatt, but I can't say I agree with you on that one." Sarcasm dripped from his monotone voice.

Jschlatt raised an eyebrow at him, then turned to Dream. "Well, I thought I'd check up on you guys. I assume they've already told you what we want, so I'll be going now."

Dream scowled at him, deciding to stay silent as the man left. Ex smiled at him in an almost creepy way as Jschlatt's footsteps faded into silence. "Well. Trying to escape aren't you. I didn't think you were quite that stupid."

"What are you talking about?" Xisuma challenged his brother.

"I know you're planning something. I know that Techno here is an important part of it. So I'm afraid I'll have to put a stop to that."

Ex stepped forward, a shimmering key materializing in his hands, and he inserted it first into Techno's cage door, then a lock on the metal segment of wall. He gave a sharp tug, prompting Techno to follow, and the pink haired warrior had no choice but to walk obediently behind Ex, his hands shackled, the chain clanking between him and his captor like a dog being taken for a walk.

Dream pressed his hands against the bars. "Techno!"

Xisuma was calling out to Ex. "Don't hurt him! Ex please!"

Ex sneered in contempt, then pulled on the chains. Techno glared at him, but wisely restrained himself from violently sending Ex a message. It wasn't a fight he could win.

Ex beckoned to Tubbo, and the young boy stalked to his side refusing to meet Techno's gaze.

"Take this sword. Make sure he doesn't wander off. I need do go prepare a cell for him."

Dream could instantly tell it was a test. He knew from Ex's expression that he could have made a cell right there and then, but he didn't trust Tubbo.

Tubbo took the hilt of the blade, inspecting it for a moment, then dug the tip of the sword under Techno's chin, pressed against his throat drawing a drop of blood. It gleamed, a glistening orb of crimson at the end of the diamond blade. Techno didn't flinch, but Dream could see the sadness pooling in his sharp blue grey eyes.

"Take as long as you want. I assure you, he's not going anywhere." The coldness of Tubbo's voice seemed to be stabbing at Dream's heart. This wasn't the boy he remembered. The one who laughed at jokes. The one who played with bees. The one who could get even Tommy, Tommy who listened to no one, to listen.

"Tubbo." He whispered. Tubbo glared at him.

"Stop Dream. You can't get me to change my mind."

Dream opened his mouth to protest, then closed it again, opting to stay silent. He knew that Tubbo was mad at him as well, for not paying enough attention, not noticing what Jschlatt had been doing right underneath his nose. For not stopping Techno from releasing death in the form of a violent burst of colour.

Truth to be told, he blamed himself too.  
Ex returned and gave Tubbo a nod of approval, taking back his sword and without a word, led Techno into the shimmering nothingness.

A few minutes later, he returned empty handed. He did the same thing to Dream, and Dream had to constantly remind himself that this person had admin and void powers to stop himself from delivering a painful greeting. Ex brought him to another cell and locked him on it, making sure his chains were clasped tightly. He was too far away and too disoriented in the silvery, borderless mist to distinguish which we he came from, and he was too far away to see any other cells.

He was alone.  
He hoped Techno was alright. And Xisuma.

He hoped that separation was the end of Ex's plan. Hoped that Techno would be able to quietly train.

How wrong he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Ex is revealed! I think at this point y'all knew it was him, I just didn't really confirm it.  
> So, onto everyone's favourite part of the Notes section:  
> *holds up giant bag of food excitedly*  
> *trips and falls*  
> *all the food smushes together*  
> Uh.  
> *Glances at the monstrosity inside the bag*  
> *slowly pours it out*
> 
> *lumpy CPK mac n cheese mashed with burgers stuffed with Bratwurst sausages and french fries plops to the ground. A ghost pepper sticks out from the mix. Brussels sprouts are scattered in abundance over the entire mess. There is an upside down cheese muffin in the mac n cheese, which is drenched in hot cocoa. There is squashed pandesal everywhere and it is melting in the hot chocolate. A donut is looped around a ghost pepper. Bags of sprite are all over the place. One hits you on the head. Fruit salad is also now one with the mac n cheese. More sprite appears, specifically McDonalds sprite and a ghost pepper floats idly around in it. Lucozade flavoured caramel sits to the side, by itself, as it already sounds bizarre enough.  
> At the very top of everything, is one, singular Oreo*
> 
> Alright.  
> Enjoy y'all.


	21. Vermillion Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jschlatt and Ex are not taking any chances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
> In case you didn't see the tag I added, this chapter does include a lil torture... so uh just keep that in mind I guess.  
> Anyway thank you all for the support <3  
> Also, the idea of naming chapters is really exciting to me all of a sudden for literally no reason, so I'll be naming them all when I finish the story, for sake of consistency.  
> Read on!

Xisuma flinched as he heard the screams. He knew it was Dream.

They tore through the silence, sharp with pain, the sound of someone breaking. Slowly.

He shivered as he recalled his own experience in what he could only remember as "the room" the day before.

They wanted information. Ex in particular. And they didn't want him to have enough time to think. They knew that their plan wasn't foolproof, and in their eyes, Ex's and Schlatt's at least, the best way to keep someone occupied, to stop them from thinking of ways to escape, was to torture them.

Xisuma did not enjoy it. Of course, they seemed to need him alive as they healed him right after, but the memory, the trauma, didn't fade as easily as his wounds. He was curled up in his cell, his arms wrapped around his legs, back against the wall, shivering.

The only thing he could really remember was the pain. He knew everything else, but whenever he tried to really think about it, his mind could only recall the horrors he had experienced.

So much pain.

He remembered passing out several times, and walked up to more.

He remembered the cold glint of metal. The chains that pinned him to the wall. They were the same type of chains that were in his cell, and he resented having to touch them, hated them as they coiled loosely behind him.

He remembered the healing potions being tipped into his mouth, the warm feeling of being reconstructed, saved from certain death, and then the icy numbness as it wore off and it began again.

He flinched as Dream cried out again. He knew that Dream wouldn't spill information - he hadn't either. But that only meant a prolonged punishment.

He also knew that Techno had been for first to experience it. He had assumed it wasn't that bad, as he hadn't heard Techno make a single noise, but had quickly realized that he was wrong. Techno had probably actually gotten worse than the rest of them, as he was the one who was crucial to the escape plan. Ex knew this, so it was safe to assume that Schlatt did too.

Xisuma winced internally. Techno hadn't screamed because he was stronger. Stronger than Dream. Stronger than Xisuma. He wouldn't break, refused to give in. He had a high pain tolerance, and he was simply too stubborn to cry out.

The thought made him want to find Techno and give him a hug.

* * *

Xisuma stared into the shimmering grey emptiness, his expression carefully blank. Someone was approaching.

There was only so much pain someone could take. That's what he had told himself. But he had quickly discovered it to be false. Every time he had thought that he reached his limit, every time was certain that there couldn't possibly be more pain than what he had felt, he had simply walked onto a whole new level. One he didn't even know existed.

He squinted, trying to make out who was walking to him.

Tubbo.

The younger boy stopped in front of his cell. "Xisuma." There was a flicker of regret in his voice.

"What. What do you want?" His usually friendly voice was guarded, and rightfully so.

Tubbo took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't think they would try torture. I- I tried to stop them. They didn't listen to me."

"A bit too late now." Xisuma tried to stop the memories from jolting through his mind.

Tubbo winced slightly. "I'm sorry. I really am, Xisuma. If it was just me, I would have let you keep your power. We could have ruled together. I don't think you deserve this."

Xisuma narrowed his eyes. "Free me then." He suggested, knowing full well that it wouldn't happen.

"I can't. Ex would probably kill me."

Dream screamed again, the sound tearing through the misty nothingness, and they both flinched, a flicker of horror and regret streaking across Tubbo's face for a moment.

"I didn't think it would be like this." Tubbo admitted finally, his voice so soft Xisuma had to strain his ears to pick up on it. "They promised that they wouldn't have you guys killed. I never imagined they meant torture instead."

Xisuma paused. "Not kill? I thought you were trying to transfer our powers?"

Tubbo tilted his head. "The machine isn't designed to kill, only to transfer power."

Xisuma sighed, his purple gaze shining like crystals, their brilliant colour never seeming to dim. "Tubbo, they lied. There is literally no way to separate an admin from their power that doesn't involve killing them. And even if there was, do you really think Schlatt would just let us walk out?"

Tubbo paled. "That- that's not what they said. He promised, Xisuma. He promised you wouldn't be killed."

Xisuma lowered his head. "He lied to you."

Tubbo pressed his face closer to the bars, his blue gaze piercing. "Xisuma. I - I don't know who to trust anymore. I want to trust you, but I don't know if I can."

Xisuma regarded him for a moment.

"I think you know." He said carefully. "I think that somewhere inside you, you do know who to trust. You know what you believe in, what you think is right. And I think that part is you is fighting with the other part. The angry part. This isn't something I can tell you Tubbo - who to trust. You have to make that call yourself."

Tubbo stepped away slowly. "Maybe you're right. I need to be by myself for a while. Xisuma - I - I'm sorry for what happened yesterday."

Xisuma winced visibly and he saw another wave of guilt wash over Tubbo's face. "I know, it wasn't your fault." He said finally.

Tubbo nodded stiffly and gave him the tiniest nod of his head, then turned and walked away slowly.

Xisuma watched his figure fade into the shining fog, his footsteps fading.

Silence.

* * *

Dream hated every moment.

He could hear his heartbeat. It drummed in his ears so loudly that he was confident the rest of the room - Jschlatt and Ex, could hear it too. He had already been healed several times, at least three that he remembered, but to be fair, his memories were a mess. A jumbled, confusing mess of pain.

He was pinned to a wall, the iron shackles still around his wrists. Jschlatt stood across the room, an elegantly curved bow held casually in his hands. Ex was watching. Waiting his turn.

Jschlatt nocked an arrow. It had a barbed end. "So, you want to tell us what your brilliant plan is? One last chance."

Dream wasn't about to sell out his friends, and he was too exhausted to come up with a smart remark, so he simply stayed silent, his weight held up completely by the chains.

Jschlatt waited another moment, then released the arrow. It flew straight, a blurry streak of brown and silver and white.

It sank into Dream's shoulder, the same spot where he had been stabbed the night of capture. While he originally hadn't gotten potions for that, it had healed when they brought him back from the brink of death after the first round.

Pain erupted where the arrow had struck, but he stopped himself from calling out. He didn't want to give them the satisfaction. He gritted his teeth, feeling as if his entire arm was on fire, watching red soak through his shirt, blooming like the petals of the flower of death.

Black spots danced in front of him, the pain feeling like it was building up, as if it were a volcano, gathering strength to erupt. Sides heaving, he managed do say conscious, the pain just under unbearable.

Jschlatt stalked forwards, and Dream knew what he was going to do.

The ram-horned man reached forwards, his fingers closing around the shaft of the arrow. The moment his fingers touched it, applying the tiniest amounts of pressure, pain exploded in Dream's shoulder, and he bit the inside of his mouth, hard, to stop himself from screaming. He could taste blood.

Jschlatt yanked the arrow out.

Almost instantly, the pain skyrocketed. Dream felt delirious, his entire existence in agony. He could see blood, his blood, a beautiful lively shade of copper, streaming from the wound, splattering onto the ground. A scream tore through the air. He realized it was coming from him, and snapped his mouth shut, breath coming in ragged gasps.

Black filled his vision, and just before the world went dark, he could see Jschlatt holding a glowing pink vial.

The promise to bring him back.

For another round.

Of games.

And for one, brief, blissful moment before Schlatt healed him with that horrible potion, his senses faded into a peaceful nothingness, his mind buzzing with the knowledge that he would return.

And in that instant, he didn't want to.

But he didn't have a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof.  
> Sorry not sorry. I mean, I couldn't have just let them sit around, could I?!  
> Anyway.  
> *holds up the foods in excitement*  
> *widens eyes in realization as the giant food pile from last time comes into view*  
> *slips in the mac n cheese hot chocolate*  
> *food flies everywhere as well as Lysol*  
> *huckleberries plop into the mac n cheese. Whipped cream melts into the hot chocolate, which has a cupcake doughnut and Costco pizza floating around in it. A diet carrot cake with an actual carrot fly higher than they were made to, and splatter a bit more too. An ukulele shaped cake, with good quality sprinkles now has a new topping of apple pie and apple cider donuts, which is topped with lingonberry jam. The toast is nowhere to be found. There is a ridiculous amount of cupcakes everywhere for no apparent reason. Bagels fly into the air and into the waiting arms of all the readers*  
> Uh.  
> *embarrassed noises*  
> Well. Um.  
> *listens to reader requests carefully*  
> Wait. Someone. Someone wants human blood.  
> I am a human. 
> 
> Help they a-


	22. Elephant Tusk White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hermits back at base are busy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a bit of a time skip backwards here. This is what took place when Xisuma said "yesterday", but instead back home.  
> Enjoy.

Tango squinted, carefully bending a redstone wire into shape and connecting it to another part a tiny metal contraption he was worked on.

The improved communicators. They were certainly to a challenge, and so far, the best that he had managed was to have them connect within four blocks of each other in the end, which was in no way enough. He could yell past that range.

He sighed and, with tweezers, picked at the insides of the communicator.

"Hey Tango." Iskall greeted him from behind, his blue cyborg eye glowing brightly.

"Hey."

Iskall came closer, leaning curiously over Tango's shoulder, inspecting his work. "That's pretty smart, they way you have it set up. The range wouldn't be too good though."

"I know. It's four blocks. _Four blocks_. We could literally talk farther than that."

Iskall nodded, sympathetic. They had both spent all morning trying to make the annoying little gadgets work, and while Iskall had just gone to get lunch, Tango had been close to finishing his. Which, as he now knew, was completely useless. It had been worth a try though.

Tango set down his project. "I'm starving, I'm going to go get food. See ya."

Iskall nodded. "Mind if I tinker with yours a bit? I think I can fix the range."

"Go for it man!"

Iskall nodded thankfully and carefully moved Tango's communicator into his workspace, then sat down, puzzling over the small device.

Tango leaned over the exit, spreading his wings, relishing the cool breeze that blew against his face after working in he stuffy workshop all morning.

They were currently in his iron shop in the shopping district, and Xb and Bdubs had given them a load of redstone, which was piled up in the back corner.

From his high up perch, he could see the entire shopping district, sprawled out messily beneath him. Mayer Scar had, of course, tried to organize the island by adding grass and neat segments of roads, only Grian had immediately recruited some other hermits and starting spreading mycelium again, despite voting for Scar to spread grass, so the entire island looked like a patched up blanket with splotches of vibrant green contrasting with the misty purple. Grian was great, but sometimes he confused Tango a little bit.

He leaned forwards, the wind catching his outspread wings, and extending them fully, swooped gracefully over the island.

Lunch was being served, curtesy of Joe, and Cleo who was helping, both of them wearing a pink flowery apron. The food consisted of roasted beef, at a stand labeled "Steak a Break".

Tango chuckled at it, recalling when Joe had originally sold the steak for a ridiculous price and therefor had no business. He came up to the stand and Joe handed him a steak on a ceramic plate.

"Thanks Joe."

"No problem!" Joe waved merrily.

Balancing his plate carefully, he walked over to Xisuma and Keralis' concrete shop. He liked to be in high up places - especially now that he had his elytras and wasn't afraid of falling. It gave him space to think, and was a huge contrast to the usually cramped, stuffy machines he worked on. Carefully, plate in hand, he climbed to the top of the highest building, and sat down comfortably, legs dangling over the edge.

He admired the view as he ate.

The wrestling ring that Ren had built had been repurposed into a training space, as well as the originally flooded aqua arena that Xisuma had built at his base, then abandoned. They had dried out all the water, and the soft sandy floor served as an excellent training surface such that falling wouldn't result in scrapes and bruises.

Most hermits preferred to train in the ring though - Tango suspected that it was because they felt a little sad whenever they saw the towering, now-empty builds of their missing admin.

Squinting, he could make out the shape of Grian and Mumbo currently sparring in the arena. The red sweater wearing hermit was trying to coach his friend as much as possible, which was difficult as Grian wasn't exactly an expert either. Narrowing his eyes, he grinned in amusement as he saw Mumbo nearly fall over trying to hold his sword the right way.

Wilbur and Niki were in a similar situation to their left, except Niki was holding a bow. Arrows were littered all over the arena and the grass around it, one tangled in Wilbur's messy hair.

Away from the two training pairs, Tango could see Tommy practicing by himself, his eyes narrowed as he moved and swung his sword, each of his actions smooth and flowing - he almost seemed to be dancing. Tango paused, admiring his liquid like stance. He had heard that Tommy had been trained by both Techno and Dream, although not too much, but it definitely made him better at combat than most of the players present. He wondered for a moment if it would have been a better idea to let Tommy use that skill for a better result than sulking in a little wrestling ring, but immediately shut away the idea. Tommy was a kid. And although he didn't act like one, although he was perhaps more skilled than other players, he knew that nobody here would ever forgive themselves if they sent a child into the Nether and hurt him.

Looking past the ring, he could see Stress and TFC busy brewing potions at Stress' potion shop, hunched over several bubbling cauldrons beneath the giant tree. Multicoloured plumes of steam rose around them, glowing in the sunlight.

He was aware that they were preparing for battle and that their admin was missing, but a little part of him felt a flicker of joy at seeing all his friends come together, hermits and newcomers, working together like a well oiled machine. 

He felt a flicker of unease suddenly, but couldn't really place a finger as to why. He dug out the tracker from his pocket. He, Iskall and Keralis each had one.

He froze. The red light was dim. He waited a moment, then it blinked back, flicking on and off rhythmically, continuing as if nothing had happened. What did that mean? From what he knew about the system, which was a lot, since he built it, Xisuma had just briefly died, then come back.

That wasn't good.

He heard the rush of wind, and suddenly Iskall was beside him, his eyes wide and the tracker in his hand told Tango what he was worried about.

"It- it just went out for a moment!"

"I know." Tango winced. "I saw"

Iskall rubbed the light, and they both watched it flash steadily under his thumb. Tango felt frozen, his eyes fixed on the blinking crimson.

On.

Off.

On.

Off.

Light.

Dark.

Dark.

It stopped and refused to turn on again.

It went out again for much longer than a heartbeat.

He couldn't move, only stare numbly at it. Iskall was also still beside him.

And then it came back, flickering weakly for one horrible moment, but steadying.

Iskall made a strangled sound somewhere on his throat. "What does this mean." He whispered.

Tango had a guess, but the possibility was so awful that he hated even thinking about it happening to Xisuma. He was correct, of course, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"We have to hurry. It's not looking good for him."

Iskall nodded in agreement, his expression grim. "Do- do we tell everyone else?"

Tango grimaced. "I don't know."

Iskall took a deep breath, looking panicked, his blue electrical eye gleaming. "Maybe we don't say anything? How would we even start this conversation?"

Tango shrugged helplessly. "Oh, hi everyone, yeah Xisuma might have just died a couple times over."

Iskall gave an almost hysterical laugh. "Tango, please. What do we do?"

Tango rubbed his hands absentmindedly. "I guess we don't say anything about it. If someone asks, we tell them though, that way we aren't actually lying."

"That could work I guess." Iskall admitted reluctantly. 

Tango took a deep breath. "Do you think we'll be too late?"

"I - I hope not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Food. Yes.  
> Early warning for those of you with food requests: this story is in it's second half, and I will not be taking food requests in the penultimate chapter, as I have a finale food ready. I'll be reminding y'all again when that comes round, so request early guys. I'm thinking probably about 5 ish more chapters to this story :D  
> So.  
> Onto the actual stuff.  
> *relief that one of my wonderful readers cleaned up the mess from the last two chapters*  
> *drives over in a car carved from a giant carrot*  
> *pulls out photos of imaginary homemade cheese latkes*  
> Someone wanted to try eating a person, given the reason that it tastes supposedly like a mix of beef and chicken... so.  
> *throws imaginary hunk of beef chicken blend at y'all*  
> *chucks imaginary zucchini cakes at everyone*  
> *shakes food excitedly. A can of coke explodes and flies off in the distance*  
> *an inflatable pool filled with raspberries materializes in front of very confused readers*  
> *takes out imaginary cup of... fresh swamp water* uh. *a tadpole swims in it*  
> UH.  
> Angst fries will be incoming in the story. The ending is... no spoilers.  
> Also, someone is still after human blood.
> 
> Any volunteers?


	23. Ruby Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Things go _VERY _WRONG!"__  
>  \- Technoblade, Skyblock: Potato War 3 (FINALE)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The summary explains it pretty well.  
> If you don't watch Techno, I strongly recommend the Potato War series as an intro to his humour - it's incredible.  
> Enjoy!

False led the way.

The heat from the nether was getting to them all. It wasn't safe to fly here - lava dripped from the ceiling, the terrain was uneven and filled with pits of fire and lava, and the waves of heat that rose from the ground disrupted with the steamy air currents that elytras relied on.

Instead, they had to walk. Her exposed skin was already red from the biting heat, and wherever her armour touched her was drenched in sweat, but she didn't dare take them off. To be armour-less in the Nether was a death sentence.

A Ghast screeched somewhere, its wandering cry echoing through the stifling air.

The Nether was somehow simultaneously too empty and too full at the same time. There were dangers everywhere. One wrong step could send you plummeting to your death, or into a pool of lava, which was just as deadly. Glistening red and blue trees could be seen, their gnarled roots clinging precariously to the jagged crimson rocks that made up everything. There was always movement. The flickering of flames, the dust and grime that fell from the Nether ceiling, the slow bubbling of the lava. There was always sound too. The faraway screeching and snarling of hostile creatures echoed through the desolate wasteland. Fire crackled, devouring air.

Yet at the same time, there was nothing. Heat, misery and death were heavy in the atmosphere, clinging to everything, muffling all of one's senses. It was like walking in a barren desert, with only the stifling heat for company.

She hoped they were going the right way. Compasses didn't work in the Nether. Maps were useless because things changed way too quickly. An island seen one day could be completely submerged in the lava ocean the next. A whole forest could grow in a week. A cave-in could create an entirely new impassible wall of red rock in the blink of an eye.

The only things that didn't change was the place the portal was, and the location of the fortress, but getting to it was always a challenge.

She raised her head and slowed down as they emerged from the cover of a crimson forest. Thankfully, they had only run into one small Hoglin, and Etho had taken care of it with one expertly shot arrow between the eyes. Now that they were going to be more exposed, their archers were more valuable than ever, their keen eyes and long ranged weapons the only reliable way to take down Ghasts.

She could hear the rest of her group stumbling to a halt behind her, and she turned to face them, checking that everyone was accounted for.

Hypno stood right behind her, his bow gripped tightly in his fingers. His long grey coat fluttered behind him, too big to be hidden under his armour.

She peered behind him. Keralis, Bdubds and xB were clumped together. Bdubs met her gaze and managed a slight smile.

"I hate this place." Keralis puffed, exhausted. She couldn't blame him, they were all tired. They had been traveling for a day now, with a couple breaks in between, and they were all drained.

Bdubs nodded in agreement.

Bad was right behind the builders. False couldn't quite figure him out. She liked knowing people, knowing if she trusted them enough to let them have her back in battle.

Bad was a mystery. He seemed nice enough, and was always trying to give her a muffin, but she had seen intelligence behind his gaze, the wary sadness, and the excited fury when Techno had been declared missing. He was loyal, almost deadly loyal, and strong willed, but extremely unwilling to take part in conflict. Unless he truly believed in his cause.

His black cloak fluttered around him, the blue sword strapped across his back gleaming brightly.

Etho stood behind him, pale hair gleaming in the maroon landscape. His eyes were determined and focused, his hands holding his bow casually, but she had seen how quickly he was able to shoot after running into the Hoglin and had no doubt that he could be ready to fire in an instant.

She felt her heart swell with pride. She trusted them all. Even Bad. She couldn't really figure him out, but could sense that he had good intentions. True intentions.

"I think we're close." She announced.

Hypno narrowed his eyes, peering into the Nether fog.

"Close to a Ghast." He finished, an arrow nocked. False strained her eyes, as did the rest of the group, but no one except Etho seemed to be able to see it.

Hypno paused for a moment, then adjusted his angle and let the arrow fly. It vanished into the gloom, and a heartbeat later she heard the dying shriek of a Ghast somewhere off in the distance.

"Good shot." Etho said after a heartbeat of silence.

Hypno managed a smile. "Thanks."

"That was incredible." False admitted.

Etho placed his own arrow back into his quiver. "The journey is supposed to take a day, correct?"

False nodded.

"Then you're right. We should be close. As long as we're headed in the right way at least."

* * *

It took them another hour. False was afraid that perhaps they had overshot, and walked past it completely, or maybe they were just walking in the wrong direction, but then she had seen the dark red towers looming in the distance.

Now the problem was getting up it.

Keralis paused, humming. "I can craft some ladders."

Etho shook his head. "No. We need cover and a quick escape. It's better to mine a staircase through a pillar."

"Wouldn't it collapse?" Bad tilted his head.

"Never happened to me before. If we look around, we might be able to find the one that I made last time I was here"

* * *

They did find the one that he made.

It was a rickety uneven staircase that wound upwards through the colossal column of thick red bricks, and it made False a little dizzy when she peered at it. True, it covered one's head, but the sides were completely exposed.

The journey to the top was slow and treacherous. Keralis nearly slipped over the edge. He certainly would have if Etho hadn't managed to catch him by the back of his shirt, and the rest of them had shakily managed to pull him back to safety.

By the time she reached the top, her hands were trembling and she leaned on dusty red bricks for a moment to catch her breath. The rest of her group evidently felt the same way, with Bdubs immediately hugging the ground. "A flat ground?! I haven't seen one of these in a while!"

She managed a slight smile. "Etho, do you still remember which way the Blaze room is?"

He tilted his head, looking around. "I think so. I believe it's down that corridor over there, then down a set of stairs."

She glanced over at the corridor where he was pointing at and readied her sword. "Everyone good?"

They all nodded. She continued forwards, the hilt of her weapon slippery in her palm, slick with sweat.

She walked onwards, aware of how loud their footsteps were, echoing through the eerie fortress. The clattering of arrows met her ears and instantly she was on alert. A skeleton emerged from the next intersection, several blocks away from her. But it was no regular skeleton. It was an entire block taller, with thicker bones that were charred black. It held a dull but heavy stone blade.

An arrow whistled past her ear and embedded itself in the skeleton's skull, cracking it a little. The skeleton turned around.

Hypno drew a gasp behind her. "That should have killed it!" He protested.

"With these, you have to knock out their spine." Etho explained, his arrow flying neatly between the skeleton's ribs and shattering the thin bones along its spine. Instantly it clattered into a pile of rapidly dissolving bones, until only one was left, as well as a lump of coal and two arrows. Hypno retrieved the arrows, handing one to Etho who nodded wordlessly, slipping it back into his quiver.

False shuddered. Nothing in the Nether was normal.

They found the Blaze room after getting lost about twenty times, and False was not looking forwards to trying to find their way out. It turned out that Etho did not remember where it was, and they had spent at least ten minutes going in circles. She had nearly died to another skeleton - a Wither skeleton she had learned they were called, when it stepped right in front of her, and only her lightning fast reflexes with her sword had saved her.

Keralis and xB had also gotten cornered by a stray blaze and they had huddled carefully directly in front of it - it's blind spot, until Etho had shot it and retrieved a single glowing rod.

Their first blaze rod.

They needed seven. Seven blaze rods would be ground into fourteen jars of Blaze powder. They would be combined with the Enderpearls to make Eyes of Ender. Two would lead them to the stronghold, and twelve would be used in activating the portal.

False grinned. She was confident in their abilities to succeed. The flickering of flames from the Blaze spawner brought her back to reality and she hefted her sword.

Keralis, Bdubs and xB were building a wall-like structure that would allow them to shoot arrows through the gaps, but not allow the Blaze to get though. But this meant that they had to be protected while they built it. False was the frontline fighter, Etho and Hypno perched on a ledge behind her, bows taunt.

Bad was behind the little bit of wall they had built, cooking muffins on a little tin tray over an open fire.

Three Blazes appeared in a shower of sparks. False lunged forwards nimbly, and before the first one could react, stabbed her sword through it's middle, then quickly let go of the hilt. She had learned that when Blazes die, they create a brief inwards vortex of hot fiery air before dissolving, and she didn't want her hand in it.

Arrows sprouted in the chests of the other two, simultaneously.

It shuddered, flames flickering around it, then crumpled, dissolving into nothingness. No rod. She sighed and recovered her sword from the pile of previously Blaze ash. The other two didn't leave any rods either. They were pretty rare.

* * *

False was sore and tired. They just needed one last rod. They were so close. She had lost track of time. Clocks didn't work in the Nether either, so none of them knew how long they had been fighting Blazes for, but it was several hours at least.

A shower of golden sparks flashed around her, and two blazes appeared, smoke rising from their internal fire. Arrows streaked past her, hitting the Blazes at the same time, and they melted into nothingness, leaving behind a single, golden rod.

"Yes!" False cheered, as did the rest of her group. Bad jumped up in delight, abandoning his fiftieth tray of muffins, and high-fived Keralis, Bdubs and xB. Etho and Hypno exchanged a nod.

False snuck forwards, carefully grabbing the rod, and then rejoined her friends on the safe side of their barrier. "We have all of them!" She announced victoriously.

Etho lifted his head, scanning their surroundings. "Only problem now it getting them back in once piece."

Hypno shifted his grasp on his bow nervously. The fortress was making them all jumpy.

Carefully, Bdubs broke the cobble barrier they had put into place between them and the rest of the fortress, and they stepped out of their safe little bubble.

False strained her eyes, glancing around at the smoky terrain, her sword grasped firmly in her hand. Etho stood in front of her, Hypno at the back of the group, both of them on high alert. They were low on arrows, so they had to make every one count.

The clatter of bones startled her, and she whirled towards the sound. 

Four Wither skeletons, their smoky grey swords raised in hostility, their long legs bringing them closer to the players with each step. 

"Skeletons!" She managed to shout, before they were upon her, and she barely managed to parry the strike that one of them sent her way. They may have been dead, or rather, undead, but they were strong, and that single strike had almost knocked her off balance. An arrow flew past her ear and one of the skeletons exploded in a cloud of smoke and dust, bones clattering lifelessly to the ground, but the other three were angry.

The one who had attacked her first advanced, swinging its sword wildly, and she blocked and slashed, years of trained keeping her alive. She barely had any idea of what was going on, her instincts moving her blade alone.

Bad was throwing muffins at another Wither skeleton, and Hypno was aiming at it frantically, as it was swinging its sword and running back and forth, managing to slice a few muffins clean out of the air. He had to be careful with his shot - if he missed, he might accidentally shoot another player.

Keralis, xB and Bdubs were pinned between the cobble wall they had built earlier, and a Wither skeleton. It advanced with horrific speed, and suddenly Etho was behind it, an arrow nocked in his bow, but it was moving too fast, and if he missed, the arrow would go between it's empty ribs and right at his friends.

The skeleton raised its sword. Keralis threw a brick at it desperately, which glanced off its skull, doing no damage. Its bones clattered fiercely, and for a moment the light of the nearby fires reflected off its dusty blade as it held it over its head.

She could hear Bad scream as he caught sight of the situation, a scream of helpless fury.

She was locked in combat with her own Wither skeleton.

Time seemed to slow down for a moment.

None of them could move fast enough.

The blade came down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was unsatisfied with the daily cliffhanger consumption of y'all, so uh yeah.  
> Also, happy birthday to PanWithoutAPlan, hope you had a good one.  
> *passes over imaginary birthday cake and forces the rest of the readers to sing 'happy birthday'*  
> *checks orders*  
> Aight so.  
> *chucks over imaginary Wendy's chicken nuggets and shake*  
> *hesitantly hands over imaginary cream pies* Schlatt and Ex are going to kill me for this, I hope it's worth it.  
> *finds imaginary tacos and throws them at readers*  
> *hands over an imaginary normal apple*  
> Y'all are surprisingly okay with someone drinking your blood and I'm not sure what To think about that, but I guess enjoy.  
> Also, BlueNekomata has kindly provided us with a table, so I'll either be throwing that or throwing food into that next time.  
> Yay.


	24. Fiery Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another life is on the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not looking good for the players in the Nether. I couldn't just let them get away unscathed.  
> Also, last time I lied, I'll probably end up with closer to another seven ish chapters.  
> Yay!  
> Also, I finally learned how to format on AO3, so chapters here on out will be actually formatted decently. I'll also slowly be reformatting previous chapters whenever I have time.  
> Enjoy.

"No!" Keralis yelled forcefully, horror dripping from his voice.

The Wither skeleton appeared to have heard the footstep behind it, and in one smooth motion, whirled around to face Etho, lashing out with its blade.

Etho's eyes widened, and too late he tried to jump back, but there was no time. The sword bit into his side, and he cried out in pain, falling to his knees. Hypno shot an arrow frantically at it, and it hit its mark, the skeleton exploding into dark dust, it's skull clattering to the ground like some sort of sick, twisted trophy.

False fought against her Wither skeleton with renewed strength, fear and fury fuelling her every move. She crossed blades with it, then pushed forwards with a burst of energy. The skeleton took a step back, right over the edge of the fortress, and it plunged downwards, vanishing from her sight.

Bad and Hypno had also managed to overpower their Wither skeleton, reducing it to a pile of ash, and they were all clustered by Etho's side. False rushed over, terror pounding in her chest. 

Etho was slumped against the wall, his breaths shallow. His eyes were open, bright with pain, his hand clamped firmly over the wound to stop himself from bleeding out, crimson blood dripping from his fingers.

"How bad is it?" False demanded, rummaging in her inventory for bandages. 

Keralis swallowed, his voice hoarse. "It's bad. He's been Withered."

False found the bandages, and knelt beside her injured teammate, her hands shaking as she frantically tried to unravel it. Peering closer at the wound, she could see that the edges were tinged black. The Wither affect. 

She had never seen it in person before, only heard the horror stories of players who had been Withered, the life slowly sucked out of them with each passing moment. It was one of the more horrific ways to go.

Bad was digging around in his inventory, looking for anything that might help. Bdubs held Etho's hand comfortingly, xB looked stunned, his expression one of shock.  
Hypno stood a little apart from them, his bow still in hand, a grim expression on his face. Keeping watch.

False swallowed, wrapping the bandage around the wound, noting the red that immediately seeped through them. "The cure is milk, right?"

Bad nodded numbly. "I don't have any though. Does anyone have milk?

They all shook their heads.

Etho winced, his voice tight with pain. "Just lea-"

"No!" False interrupted fiercely. "No. That is not happening. We all go back together, or we don't go back at all. You are not dying on my watch. There's milk in the Overworld."

Bad held up a healing potion. "This will help with the wound. The Wither affect still needs milk, but this will stop him from dying of blood loss." He handed the tiny bottle to xB, who uncorked it and held it to Etho's mouth, making sure he swallowed it.

Bdubs leaned closer to False. "The main worry now is the Wither effect. The wound itself is fairly shallow - he should be able to recover from it, especially with the potion now, if we got the milk."

Keralis tilted his head, his eyes troubled, and False felt a stab of pity for him. His closest friend was currently missing, and now Etho had been wounded. "False, how about you and Hypno go ahead. Take the Blaze rods with you. Deliver them to the rest of the hermits. Then come back with the milk."

She hesitated. "I can't leave the rest of you with Etho unguarded. Hypno can stay as well."

Keralis shook his head. "No. We'll go into hiding. You'll need Hypno's bow skills to make it back in one piece."

She paused. "Alright." She relented, her voice still hesitant. "Be safe. Just tunnel into walls of the fortress, right here, and when I come back I'll knock."

Bad nodded. Keralis handed her the blaze rods, the heat that radiated off of them increasingly uncomfortable. 

She got up and walked over to Hypno. He cast a glance at Etho, who managed to meet his gaze. "We'll be back. Sit tight." His voice held a sharp edge of worry. 

False barely trusted herself to speak, and she gave a single nod.  
xB, Bdubs, Keralis and Bad nodded back. They trusted her.

 _I won't fail them_ , she swore silently.

* * *

They were separated. False wasn't worried for herself - both she and Hypno were capable in combat, and in excellent shape. She wondered if they could make it in half the time. It was doubtful, but she knew that every fraction of an hour they saved made a difference. In his current state, Etho was counting minutes.

What if they got back too late?

Could she forgive herself for failing?

Would Etho and the rest of her friends forgive her for failing?

What would happen if...

Hypno stopped suddenly, and he grabbed False, steady hands yanking on the back of her armour, stopping her a heartbeat before she walked off the edge of a ravine. Panic flooded through her, as well as relief that made her feel weak and light headed.

"False!" He chided. "Pay attention."

"I'm sorry!" She felt horror yawn inside her. She didn't fear death. She would gladly go for one of her friends. But right now, she carried the blaze rods. She needed to come back with milk. Multiple lives rested on her shoulders, and she refused to fail.

Hypno glanced at her, meeting her gaze firmly. "What's wrong?"

"I- I'm worried." She admitted. "What if we fail? Do you think Etho and Xisuma and Dream and Techno-"

"We can only hope." He said quietly. "That's the most we can do." A tiny smile played on his lips. "And not fall down ravines."

She met his grin shakily. "I'll do my best."

He nodded. "Good."

They walked in comfortable silence. 

The scorching heat of the Nether made every dusty, ashy breath a struggle, and as she had discovered just recently, she did not have energy and concentration to spare in worrying. 

Only hope.

* * *

Keralis was worried. He wouldn't say it out loud, not while Etho was still fully awake, but he didn't like the current chances.

False and Hypno would have to be very fast. Perhaps a day. He wondered if they could make it in a day. 

He, Etho, Bad, xB and Bdubs were cramped in a tiny hollow cave they had dug out from the side of the Nether Fortress, and then they had built back the wall, closing themselves off in total darkness. A torch was lit in the very centre for light, the smoke coming from it drifting hazily through the pitch blackness, making his eyes sting.

Bad had offered them muffins, which they had all taken gratefully. Except for Etho.

Etho was still awake, but definitely weaker. Keralis tried to remember how long it had been since False and Hypno had left. 

An hour?

Two hours?

He didn't know. But Etho was slowly slipping away, his face almost as pale as his hair, pain glinting on his eyes. Perhaps the only good news was that the wound had stopped bleeding, but the Wither effect was still just as deadly, fighting against any potion affects applied.

They had already gotten him to take two health potions, and in such short time, they didn't dare risk a third one. Health potions essentially sped up and revitalized all the healing functions, as well as the user's metabolism, and drinking even one would usually cause a slight fever. Two was pushing the limit. Three? They weren't willing to try.

He glanced at his friends. They were all scared and exhausted. xB had a thin cut across his cheek. Bad's face was streaked with grime. Bdubs had a Nether leaf sticking out of his hair. Yet he could see determination gleaming, hard and fierce in their eyes.

"Maybe you guys should get some sleep." He suggested, a little shocked by how hoarse his voice sounded. The horrible air quality of the Nether was affecting them all.

Bdubs blinked slowly. "I'll keep watch?"

"No, let me." Keralis argued. "I wouldn't be able to sleep anyways." He was too worried, too wound up to sleep, even though all his movements were limited with fatigue.

xB hesitated for a moment. "Wake us up if anything happens, alright? And if you feel tired, wake me up and I'll take next watch."

Keralis nodded. He knew that there wasn't much to watch out for. The only thing was Etho - they had to make sure he stayed awake. If he lapsed into unconsciousness, they all knew he wasn't likely to wake up. Ever.

He glanced over at his wounded friend, noting sadly the tight look of pain in his expression.

He felt rather useless. There wasn't much he could do.

The rest of his friends settled down as much as they could, and in a matter of moments, they were asleep. 

Keralis studied their expressions curiously. They all looked so calm. So gentle. Angelic. It was like they had all de-aged a couple years, months of worry and pain disappearing from their faces.

"There isn't going to be enough time." Etho said suddenly, his voice so soft that Keralis almost missed it. 

He turned to Etho, meeting his gaze firmly. "If anyone could make it back in time, it would be False and Hypno."

Etho leaned his head back warily. "It's asking them to do the impossible. Setting them up for failure." He looked exhausted speaking, but at least it meant he was still awake enough to hold a conversation.

Keralis shook his head. "You've seen how capable they are. I think they have a good chance."

"They'll be quicker then all of us. But not fast enough."

"I," Keralis paused. "I don't know." He admitted truthfully. "It's not looking good."

Etho gave him a small, bitter smile, seemingly resigned to his fate. "The rest of you should have gone back. It's wasted time."

Keralis scowled. "Could you have?" He challenged angrily. "If it was Bdubs, or xB, or Bad, or even me? If I was they one it had gotten? Would you have allowed yourself to leave?"

Etho paused.

"No." He said after a moment of silence. "I couldn't. But that doesn't change the fact that I should."

Keralis shook his head. "They'll be back. In time."

Etho exhaled, still looking unconvinced. "Perhaps."

Keralis dipped his head. He could only wait.

Only hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so powerful writing this story, like everyone's life is entirely in my hands. You know what else is in my hands?
> 
> All the food! It's a pretty manageable amount thankfully.
> 
> *pulls out a shopping cart with some food*  
> *throws imaginary normal pancakes and lemon pancakes at y'all*  
> *orders an imaginary butterbeer*  
> *offers everyone imaginary orange and blueberry muffins, placing them down on the table that was brought last time*  
> *hesitantly reads the orders*  
> *chucks imaginary McDonald apple pie at y'all*  
> *throws cheese muffins at everyone because that sounds like it should be a thing*  
> Uh  
> *reads the next order out loud*  
> "Enemies head on a platter"  
> *thinks for a moment*  
> *slaughters "responsibility", "homework" and "lack of sleep" and places their heads on a silver platter*  
> Pauses.  
> *covers everything in heavy whipped cream*  
> Perfect.


	25. Oyster White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pearl hunting team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is kinda a small chapter, I had a math finals today so yeah.
> 
> Also a few days ago I finally learned how to format stuff on AO3 and I feel so educated like oh my gosh I can make stuff like this line:
> 
> * * *
> 
> Look at it! And I can finally _italicize_ stuff now too.
> 
> I can also **bold** and center stuff. I feel so powerful.
> 
> Also, the story is actually nearing completion, still need to tie up some loose ends, and then the climax will take place.  
> Enjoy.

Sapnap whirled around, lashing out with his sword. The diamond blade cut cleanly through the air, a few shimmering purple particles the only hint of and Enderman being there, and they faded into nothingness before his eyes.

He cursed. "I almost had it!"

George grinned beside him. "Still only got one?"

Sapnap mock glared at him. "You only have two. It's not that big of a difference."

"It's doubled."

"That's not fair. One and two are just... _like_ that." 

They were having a competition to see who would be able to gather the largest number of eyes. George was winning.

Sapnap tilted his head, scanning his surroundings for the telltale purple sparkles that meant an Enderman was present. Their dark colouration made them difficult to spot in the gloomy Nether landscape.

He could see Impulse, Zedaph Scar and Cub building some sort of contraption to trap Endermen, with Wels protecting them while they worked, jabbing at any Enderman that dared come close. 

He wondered how efficient their little farm would be. Probably not as good as just hunting them down.

He spotted another Enderman, and glared at it, meeting its gaze fearlessly. It stared back at him for a moment, purple eyes glowing from the gloom, then unhinged its jaw, emitting a loud shriek. It shuddered, twisting, then vanished.

He backed up against a wall so that it wouldn't be able to teleport behind him, and waited, sword drawn. In instant later, the air in front of him rippled, and the Enderman reappeared, its arms and long, curved claws raised. He lunged forwards, and in one, clean swipe, cut his sword across its chest and it exploded into a foul smelling burst of black powder, a single Enderpearl settled in the middle. He grabbed it victoriously, turning to George. 

"Two now!"

"Oh come on." George complained, amusement glittering in his gaze.

Sapnap smirked. "Race you to three?"

* * *

Sapnap was wrong. Very very wrong.

The farm that that the hermits built was good. 

So good, in fact, that they had extra pearls. A stack each. 

Once it was finished, they had instructed him to stand on a slab, then mindlessly swing his sword, each blow ploughing through a whole line of angry Endermen. It was almost too good to be true.

Zedaph had smirked at Impulse. "Told you it would be better than your Blaze farm."

"I mean... there's different ways to define bet-"

"We literally agreed on one beforehand to avoid this." Zedaph chuckled. "You owe me five diamonds when we get back.

Impulse sighed in defeat, a mock angry expression on his face. "I'll get you back later!"

They were making their way back now, trekking through the Nether. He shivered. Most parts of the Nether were almost unbearably hot, but the two biomes they had to travel through were both freezing cold. The Warped forests held no heat, everything tainted blue, with frost creeping through the leaves. He could see a silvery cloud of mist everyone he breathed out.

The other biome they had to travel through was his least favourite in all the Nether. The Basalt Delta. The air was frigid, heavy with ice, yet horribly dry like all air in the Nether. Its atmosphere was like a freezing winter forest, but without any of the cool refreshing smells of snowflakes and crystals of frost. Huge spires of rock hung from the Nether roof, meeting halfway with the giant spikes that protruded from the lava pocketed ground. It seemed almost like the Nether was teasing them, seeing just how wild it could make itself, by mixing the patches of oozing magma with the biting air.

"I hate this place." Sapnap grumbled, skirting around a pillar of crumbling basalt.

George sent him a sympathetic glance. "At least we aren't looking for a fortress. And we already have what we need. We're almost..." he trailed off, not quite sure if he was ready to call the new server home. "...back."

Sapnap grunted in response, jumping over a pool of lava. "Can't wait." Exaggerated enthusiasm brightened his voice.

George looked at him with an amused expression. 

Then, little to his left, Impulse tripped over a piece of rock. He flailed his arms for a moment, about to lose his balance, a smoking pool of bubbling magma oozing beneath the ledge he was on.

For one horrible moment, he leaned forwards, unable to stop himself. Sapnap opened his mouth the say something, but the words dried up in his throat and he could only stare in horror. George was also frozen. They were both to far away to help.

And then Zedaph reached out from behind Impulse, grabbing his friend firmly, hands closing around his wrists and pulling him backwards. 

The moment Impulse was dragged to safety it was as if a spell had been broken, and they could all move again.

George stared at them. "Be careful! You almost gave me a heart attack." His voice was edged with panic.

Impulse gave him a shaky smile. "Right. Sorry."

Zedaph smirked at him. "I won't always be there to save you!" 

Impulse chuckled. "Thanks man."

The tension deflated, and everyone looked at each other, as if reassuring themselves that they were all alright.

"I couldn't let you die while you still owed me, could I?" Zedaph's voice took on a teasing tone.

Impulse rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me about it." 

Sapnap chucked, then stopped as it reminded him of Dream. They used to laugh and joke around like that. The three of them. Later on with Bad, and then Ant. They were friends, but also, at some point, their friendship had solidified into something much more. They were practically family. 

The laugh died in his throat, and his smile faded.

George nudged his shoulder gently, noticing his change of mood immediately. "You're thinking of Dream, aren't you."

"I- yeah. I am." He sighed.

George nodded. "We'll get him back. Don't worry."

"I know." 

They all walked in silence after that.

There was nothing left but to believe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for some Technoblade, so here is some Technoblade.  
> *casually chucks imaginary bacon at y'all*  
> Also.  
> *throws water and Tim Hortons coffee at everyone for hydration*  
> Stay hydrated.  
> *chucks Babbka (I did not know this was a thing I want some) at y'all*  
> *takes imaginary bowl of paella, cheese fries, approximately seventy bowls of noodles, almost seventy bales of hay and a diamond sword and spills it accidentally all over the story*  
> Oops.  
> Anyway, most people _really_ wanted gapples:
> 
> "And I am here to deliver... the painful truth."  
> -Technoblade, (Hwahwi VS Technoblade -1v1 of the Ages)
> 
> No gapples. Y'all would become too powerful.  
> *shivers*
> 
> Here's a normal apple though.  
> *throws imaginary apples at everyone, then runs away*  
> Bye!


	26. Radiant Gold Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best friends far apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uh ditched this story yesterday to finish Tall Tales, a Oneshot, which was worth it, but sorry for breaking the an-update-a-day thing ;-;  
> Anyway, also, I made myself a profile pic finally, what do y'all think of it?  
> Enjoy!

Keralis blinked drowsily. 

Bad was on watch currently. But it wasn't Bad who had waken him up. He glanced blearily at the muffin loving man, who met his gaze, eyes shining brightly in the dark.

"I hear footsteps." Bad whispered excitedly. Bdubs was awake in an instant, a miniature version of the torch in the centre of the room reflected in his eyes. xB also sat up hopefully.

Keralis nodded, glancing at Etho, who still looked half awake, his eyes glazed when pain."Etho?"

Bad winced. "Not good. Worsening steadily, but if those steps I hear are from False-"

Knocking. Someone was tapping on the walls of the Nether fortress. 

Keralis leapt to his feet in an instant, pulling his pickaxe out and striking the wall, opening a deep gash in the red Nether bricks. Dust clouded the air. "False?"

He could hear her on the other side, her voice faint but unmistakable. "Keralis? Is Etho still-"

"He's alive." Bad shouted back. 

"Thank goodness." They could hear the relief in her voice, clear as day. "Stand back, I'm going to chop open the wall!"

They all pressed themselves tightly against the back wall of their little cavern next to Etho, who, for the first time since he had been wounded, had a gleam of hope shining in his eyes. 

There was a heartbeat of silence, and then with a tremendous crash, the wall crumbled into dust and a hundred smaller chunks of red bricks that spilled to the ground.

Keralis had never thought of the Nether as being bright before, but after spending what he assumed was close to a day in the tiny black pit with only a single torch, the light of the open Nether was blinding, and he narrowed his eyes.

False and Hypno were on the other side, and they stared for a moment, eyes adjusting to the gloom, then rushed forwards to Etho. False rummaged in her inventory and brought out a bottle of milk. Uncorking it, she pressed it to his lips and tilted it back gently, making sure he swallowed.

Keralis gave a sigh of relief. Etho would survive.

He turned his thoughts to Xisuma. His best friend. Fear stirred in his chest as he thought about what he had seen on the tracking device.

He remembered it, although it blended in with what had happened the last couple hours like one long hazy dream. But he knew it was real. 

The red light on the tracker flickering. Pulsing with light unevenly. Stopping for definitely longer than a single heartbeat. Then starting again.

Then stopping.

The starting.

He hadn't told the others. They had enough to worry about.

He wasn't even quite sure what it meant - he had a guess, but if he was honest, he didn't want to be correct. 

He glanced at False and Hypno. They both looked exhausted, and he remembered that they had just non stop made the journey from the portal to the fortress three times.

"Rest." He ordered, approaching them. "I'll block us in again."

False was about to protest, but he cut her off. "You won't be delaying progress. Etho needs to rest too, to wait for the milk to take effect and regain his strength."

False nodded. "Alright then." Hypno also looked relieved, and they settled down on a pile of jackets and wool that someone had brought, fast asleep in a few heartbeats.

Keralis drew in a breath. _Hang in there Shashwammy._ He murmured under his breath. _We're coming._

* * *

Tommy had never felt so alone.

He wanted to do something, to help, and eventually, the adults had relented and allowed him to aid in training Niki, Grian and Mumbo, which was really _really_ frustrating. He hadn't even been aware that it was possible to be that level of terrible with a sword until Mumbo had tripped over Grian and nearly impaled himself with his own blade.

He didn't want to be wasting time hanging around.

He wanted to find Tubbo. He wanted to make sure Tubbo was alright.

But now, as everyone was preparing to head to the End, he was suddenly very afraid. He and Tubbo had always talked about killing the Enderdragon - it was a task meant for both of them. Without Tubbo, he had no one watching his back, no one he trusted fully with his life. 

If Techno had been here, then perhaps he would have stuck with him, but Techno wasn't here.

Wilbur would be with Niki, no doubt. Bad would be fighting alongside Sapnap and George, as all that remained of the Dream Team. And of course, the Hermits would all be working together.

Tommy had no one. He swallowed his nervousness, silently scolding himself. He had to be strong. He had to get Tubbo back. He couldn't fail, not now, not after coming this far, not after finally seeing the faintest glimmer of hope at seeing his best friend again.

He had to, for Tubbo.

Everyone was eating dinner in and around the town hall, one final meal together before heading off to the end tomorrow. He was sitting with his back to a tree trunk, beside everyone that's remained from the Dream SMP. Their chatter filled his ears, but he didn't bother listening. 

He missed Tubbo. 

His eyes roamed around, and he focused on little details to keep his mind occupied. 

The little spots of rust on the edge of a lantern hanging from the ceiling inside the town hall.

The cold glimmer of diamonds hanging from the leaves of the tree he sat in.

The pale gleam of stars as they started to flicker into existence, blinking numbly from far away.

The gentle lapping of the ocean, the silent waves of blue that lapped ceaselessly at the grainy beach.

He could see everyone he had grown to be familiar with over the last few days.

There was False and Etho, recounting their Nether trip, the latter still looking a little pale, but seemed well enough to be out of bed. They were surrounded by Hermits, chatter filling the air.

He saw Grian scheming with Mumbo and Iskall, rubbing his hands together mischievously, only half listening to False's story.

Niki was playing with Wilbur's hair, her eyes shining like fireflies, bright and passionate. They had each other.

Bad shared a muffin with Sapnap, George laughing at something they had said.

They had each other.

He tightened his grip on his sword, his knuckles white.

He knew they would ask him if he was sure he wanted to go. That is was perfectly alright if he stayed. That they could understand if he didn't want to fight the dragon.

But he wouldn't agree. 

He was going.

For the only person he had.

For Tubbo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I've made up my mind. There's going to be three more chapters after this one.  
> Also, *glances at bag of food*  
> This is actually a manageable amount of food thank goodness.  
> *chucks imaginary pumpkins violently at Ceruth, and only Ceruth*  
> *hands out imaginary brownies to everyone*  
> *pauses*  
> I mean, since we're nearly the end, I'll indulge in these weird requests.  
> *throws an unfathomable amount of imaginary Brussels sprouts at y'all*  
> *throws an imaginary boomerang banana at whoever requested it, but because it's a boomerang banana, it comes right back*  
> *gently pelts a couple fruit snacks at GremlinG4mer* please don't be hungry.  
> Someone asked for a bomb... uh.  
> *hesitantly hands over an imaginary bath bomb* there you go.  
> *continued reading list*  
> Someone wants some motivation. Some of my motivation. Nope sorry I need it all for my ridiculous homework, but I will motivate you.  
> *grabs pompoms*  
> *jumps up and down*  
> You can do it! I believe in you! Yay! 
> 
> Hope that helped :D


	27. Garnet Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, Techno and Xisuma have a plan. It's just that things don't like to follow plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh y'all are going to murder me after this chapter-  
> Enjoy, I guess ;-;

Techno refused to break.

He knew pain. It was as familiar as life to him. Certainly just as difficult. Perhaps even a little softer.

He refused to bend.

He remembered everything. In vivid detail. The chains. Cold as ice, they pinned him to the wall, hard and tight around his wrists. 

The arrow. The smirk on Jschlatt's face as he released the bowstring. 

The knife.

The blood.

It wasn't the first time either. The first time had been days ago. Time was difficult in the shimmering expanse of grey nothingness, and he had completely lost track about two days in.

But he had taken pain before. He had once been so careless with pain, with life, with respawing, he had played all the most dangerous games. 

They had called him the King. He had been victorious in everything he threw himself into. Games that started with sixteen players, and ended with four. Games that started with one hundred and ended in five. Games that started with twelve and ended in one.

He had been so successful, that people had started to say _Technoblade never dies_. 

But that was false. He hadn't started at a champion. He had fought his way to the top, cleaved a path with his sword to the highest rank. A path of blood. A lot of it his own.

He had died more times than he could count. Dying was an odd thing. The first time was the worst. And slowly, they lose meaning. Most players didn't want to make that sacrifice. To be comfortable with death was a scary thing to them. 

Techno knew death. And through death, he had known pain.

Jschlatt and Ex had wanted information. But also, he knew that they wanted to break him. To watch him shatter. To see his sanity crumble.

And he wouldn't give it to them.

Out of spite, if nothing else. 

He cared for his friends. He would do anything to keep them safe. But every time Jschlatt had led him into the room, the simple thought of the victorious look that would cross the ram-horned man's face was enough to make Techno snap his mouth shut and take it.

Take whatever happened.

He curled his fingers into a fist, feeling his admin powers pulse, shiver against his palm, warm and cold at the same time. He was definitely becoming more capable with his powers. He didn't know if it was good enough, if he was good enough. He was exhausted.

True, the pain they inflicted upon him wasn't as detrimental as they would have hoped, but it had taken a toll on him, along with practicing with his powers every spare moment he had.

Even farming potatoes, for days without sleeping, he had never felt so utterly drained. He guessed that it was partially due to him being tired in magical, admin power way, instead of just regular fatigue.

Footsteps. His keen ears, trained to hear every little sound even in the roar of a battlefield, did not fail him. He could tell who it was, from the briskness of each step, and the sound of their shoes against the mist. The grey nothingness, he knew from being taken across if several times, was actually two types of matter. One that made up the ground that felt thin and crisp, and another that was a thick fog that hung in the air, throughout the entire bubble.

"Ex." He greeted coldly, before the other had even come into view.

Ex smiled humourlessly, his eyes gleaming brightly like rubies. "Sharp as ever, Techno."

Techno didn't bother responding. He would be told why he was being fetched. 

Ex rubbed his hands together, then took a small silver key from his pocket. "Today's the day."

Techno didn't respond, but didn't struggle as Ex unclamped his chains from the wall and led him into the fog. His legs were sore and cramped from sitting in the cell, and he was relieved to be able to stretch them. Although he had to admit that perhaps knowing he was likely walking towards his own death might have also increased his appreciation of the activity.

For his still sore legs, they seemed to have stopped all too soon, in a clearing. The fog seemed to avoid it, leaving an empty pocket of clarity. 

In the centre, gleaming and humming with power, was a command block.

Techno had seen them before, even used a few before when Dream taught him about them. But this one was different. It radiated a feeling of wrongness, like its very existence was flawed. It pulsed with trapped energy, flickering and glitching through the lines of code, the layers of the world.

He sucked in a breath. Was this how their little power transfer would be completed? With whatever monstrosity _that_ was?

He waited in silence. He and Dream and Xisuma had a plan, but he didn't know if it would work. Anxiety churned in his stomach, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself, hoping he had developed his powers enough.

Footsteps.

He tensed, and Ex also turned to face the source of the noise, just as Jschlatt emerged from the nothingness, Dream and Xisuma by his side. Techno winced at how battered the two looked. They weren't as used to pain, used to coming back from the very edge death as he was, and he could see that it hadn't been good for them. He barely managed to stop himself from calling out to them, relief of knowing they were alive swamping over him.

Dream met his gaze, green eyes gleaming faintly with hope, but he didn't dare say anything. Techno noticed how tired his expression was, noticed the new scar that ran down the left side of his face, crossing slightly with his old scar, and he felt a surge of violent anger towards his captors. Xisuma was staring at Ex, his lips set in a firm line, his entire body tense, his eyes sharp chips of violet that seemed to glow in the colourless grey around them.

Ex smirked. "Ready?" He was speaking to Jschlatt. 

The ram horned man narrowed his eyes. "We need to wait for Tubbo first." His voice was cold, but held a sharp edge of elation, the same way a new, shiny blade was exciting.

Ex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

A heartbeat later, Tubbo stepped out from the mist, beaming, his expression radiating golden warmth. "I'm here!"

Ex scowled, fingers tracing the edge of previously Techno's sword which was currently strapped to his side. "Took you long enough. Ready?"

Jschlatt breathed in deeply. "Oh yes." He smiled unpleasantly at Dream, glaring at him through slitted eyes.

Tubbo smiled. "Look what I managed to find for the occasion!" He placed down a beehive, the bees instantly popping out and buzzing around, their wings a shimmering grey blur. Honey dripped from the edges of the hive onto the ground.

That was the signal.

Tubbo shot Techno a glance heavy with meaning, and Techno curled his fingers into fists, admin powers surging through his system. His shackles snapped, sharp metal fragments clattering to the ground around him. At the same time, Dream and Xisuma's cuffs also opened, the weight clanking to the ground. That was Tubbo's doing, just hours before.

Jschlatt gave a hoarse shout of anger, sending a burst of power streaking at Techno, but instantly Dream was there, deflecting it and sending one right back. The two faced each other, prowling back and forth like wolves, rancour shining brightly in their gazes, each one furious and unwavering.

Xisuma was crouching, his brilliant purple eyes narrowed in concentration. Across the clearing, Ex was doing the same, the struggle between the powers of the two Voidwalkers shaking the entire bubble. Cracks and patches appeared in the once smooth grey, and darkness could be seen outside. 

Techno grimaced, pulling from his energy supply and focusing it on the beehive. It was a solid block. Tubbo had done his part well, and Techno refused to fail his own. 

He already felt drained, but he kept going, pulling slightly from Dream and Xisuma's power supplies that they gave him, using their power to pave a way through the code. He tried to pull mainly from Dream's reserves as he could, as Dream didn't have a good connection to the world, meaning that attacking with admin powers couldn't be his main defence. Xisuma, on the other hand, needed every ounce of energy he could collect, to fight Ex and later sustain the bubble. 

Lines of code swam past him, and he could dimly make out what was going on around him, yet at the same time he was immersed in it, his senses all sharpened, his view spanning the entire world, the bubble he was in about as significant as an anthill in a mountain. 

He fell to his knees, his strength giving out. The beehive cracked and shuddered, spilling out purple light into the colourlessness, and the wonderful shade of violet filled his senses, the last thing that filled his gaze, before the entire world seemed to shift and he squeezed his eyes shut, shutting out everything.

* * *

Xisuma saw Techno fall into a crouched position, eyes closed firmly, and he could see the beehive shuddering and starting to crack, fragments collapsing in on itself. The portal was slowly coming into being. 

Ex was attacking his mind violently, and Xisuma barely had time to deflect each strike, to stop Ex from tearing into his code.

Tubbo yelled something, and Xisuma raised his head dully to see the young boy standing over Ex, as pair of cuffs in his hand. He had made them with the help of Dream and Xisuma to match Ex's and Jschlatt's powers, using their own weapons against them. Tubbo reached for Ex's wrists, and the Voidwalker suddenly seemed to realize his presence, retracting his attacks on Xisuma and reaching for the sword at his side, but Tubbo grabbed his arms forcefully, snapping the shackles on.

Ex snarled, suddenly releasing his control over the void and the bubble, and Xisuma felt it clearly within him, the sudden lack of energy pulsing through him meant that the bubble was going to melt into nothingness, and they would all be ejected into the void.

"If I'm going back into the void, you're all coming with me!" Ex spat venomously, and Xisuma could suddenly see, clear as day, how much fear, how much horror and loneliness that Ex's banishment to the Void had brought upon him. It had broken him, fed whatever twisted fury that burned in his soul and made a monster, a reflection of only fragments of who he once was.

Xisuma gritted his teeth, using his own energy to keep the bubble from crumbling, holding it together with willpower. Spots danced before his gaze, pain trembling through every fibre of his body, and he took a deep breath, swallowing air like a fish out of water. It must have taken Ex a long time to be strong enough to sustain something like this, and he felt a strange sense of respect and pride for his brother. 

Through slitted eyes he could see Tubbo grappling with Ex, trying to keep him from reaching his sword, using short bright burst of admin power that lent him strength.

Dream had managed to get his hands on a sword, and he was caught in a duel with Jschlatt, a duel he couldn't win because the latter had full access to his admin powers. But Dream didn't have to win, only to hold Jschlatt off, keep him busy, and Dream could do that.

Techno was still opening the portal, his hands trembling, his steely gaze fixed on the beehive. Slowly, lavender light spilled into the Void bubble, intoxicatingly beautiful. 

Xisuma panted for breath, his powers weakening with every passing moment. The portal was almost open, and there was just one last thing left to do. They had to cuff Jschlatt as well, to stop him from coming back.

Ex suddenly managed to grab his sword, and swung it wildly, barely missing Tubbo who jumped back, out of its range. Ex hissed in delight and rose to his feet, the hilt of the blade resting heavily in his hand, the diamond edge catching the flicker of light from the half formed portal. He advanced towards Xisuma, but Tubbo stood in his way, a gleaming sphere of energy protecting the Voidwalker.

Ex bared his teeth. "Step out of the way. This is between my dear brother and I." Venom laced his words, cold and deadly.

Tubbo glared at him passionately. "Well unfortunately for you, no."

Ex lunged forwards, and Tubbo summoned a burst of admin powers, colliding with Ex's blade, and he swung again, this time his sword meeting the barrier Tubbo had created, and it flickered wildly as it connected, Tubbo flinching in pain.

Xisuma tried to help, but his powers were completely and solely dedicated to keeping the bubble functional. He had no energy to spare, and even then, he was running out.

Tubbo whirled and in one smooth motion, tossed a set of cuffs to Dream, who caught them and leaped forwards, instantly snapping them around Jschlatt's wrists, leaving the ram horned man no time to think.

Xisuma could barely breathe, the Void too strong. He wouldn't be able to hold for bubble open longer. Tubbo glanced at him, then at Techno who was in the final stages of opening a portal, crouched, focusing on feeding it power. He opened his mouth to speak just as Ex swung is blade at him, and he jumped out of the way. 

Now that Jschlatt no longer had admin powers, Dream took him easily, leaving him wounded at the far end of the clearing, eyes smouldering with hatred, hands pressed against a deep cut along his side. "You'll regret this." He growled, but Dream ignored him, crossing the clearing in a few quick strides and grabbed Xisuma, letting the exhausted Voidwalker lean on him and deposited him at the mouth of the portal.

Xisuma took a shaky breath. "I- I can't hold it open much longer. Hurry." He managed to croak to Dream, and the latter nodded, raising his sword at Ex who eyed him a warily, evidently unwilling to fight him.

Two things happened at once.

Techno opened the portal, letting brillant purple light flood into the clearing, rippling and flickering with exhilarating clarity. 

Xisuma slumped to the ground, his power spent, the casing of the bubble cracking, being pulled outwards into the blankness of the Void.

Dream's lightning fast reactions saved him, and he jumped backwards just as the patch of ground where he was standing dissolved into nothingness. Tubbo dove towards the portal, past Ex who was facing Dream, but the Voidwalker reached out, grabbing the back of Tubbo's shirt, pulling him back, a triumphant smile carved across his face.

The Void ate through the edges of the bubble, leaving rapidly widening gaping holes of true blank emptiness stretched out as far as the eye could see.

Dream yanked Xisuma to his feet, bunching him and Techno together, Xisuma barely able to keep himself standing, supporting a half conscious Techno. Dream stared at Tubbo, Ex with his blade against Tubbo's throat, his back to the hole into the void.

No.

Dream refused this outcome.

When he and Tubbo had talked out the plan, he had promised.

Promised to get Tubbo home.

Promised.

Tubbo smiled at him for a moment meeting his gaze, lively blue eyes swimming brightly with tears. Ex had grabbed him, seeing no need to kill him but was simply keeping him clasped to himself. The message was clear: if I die, he's coming with me.

Dream couldn't allow that, and Ex knew. The Voidwalker smirked. 

"Take me through." It was hardly an order, more like a reminder of his only option left. Dream stared at him, meeting his smug ruby red eyes.

He reached out, hands shaking, knowing that Ex would stab them all in the back as soon as they arrived but he couldn't see what else he could do. 

He was out of options.

Tubbo screamed furiously, cursing, tears streaming down his face. "No! Don't!" He thrashed furiously in Ex's grip, unable to free himself. "He's going to kill you all! Dream!"

Dream ignored him. 

And Tubbo reached out. His hands met Dream's, and he placed something into his palm, folding Dream's fingers gently around the small object. "For Tommy." He whispered hoarsely, then kicked backwards. 

Ex gave a shriek of horror. "No! What have you done!" 

He wavered at the edge of the pit for a moment, and Dream jumped forwards, desperate to keep him from falling, to keep Tubbo from falling, but he couldn't reach them in time, and he fell to his knees at the edge of the pit, eyes fixed numbly on the two figures as they tilted precariously backwards. Ex thrust his sword desperately at Dream, and it cut deep into his side, beautiful crimson blood seeping onto the ground, but Dream didn't feel it, couldn't feel it.

Tubbo cast a gentle smile upwards, his eyes meeting Dream's for a single heartbeat, gaze filled with a lifetime of regret, and then vanished into the darkness. 

No.

His gaze blurred with tears, his face burning and he let out a choked sob. Nothing felt real.

His heart felt like it had shattered into a million razor sharp fragments, slicing him into pieces from the inside, and he couldn't breathe, couldn't tear his gaze away.

He staggered back, grabbing Xisuma and Techno, his heart feeling like it had fallen into the darkness with Tubbo, tears pouring down his face. His side was drenched in blood, and Xisuma made a soft noise of concern, but he could tell by the blank look in the Voidwalker's eyes that he was in shock, numb, unable to believe what had jus happened. His arm was around Techno who was just awake enough to keep the portal open, so exhausted that Dream feared he might have permanently ruined his admin powers, not conscious enough to have seen and processed the events that had just played out.

The bubble shuddered, nearly spilling them all into the Void, and despite the agony that felt like a knife to his heart at leaving without Tubbo, he took a step back, pulling Xisuma and Techno with him. 

Into the portal.

They were going home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All you peeps who were pointing at the Major Character Death tag last time lol betcha weren't expecting this. 
> 
> *grins evilly, then pats readers on the head*
> 
> It's ok don't worry I got food.
> 
> *hands over some imaginary gum*  
> *rummages around and dumps exactly one cubic meter of goldfish crackers on y'all*  
> That's a lot wow.  
> *pulls out a moss rock and eight gold ingots*  
> Uh.  
> Last time I checked those weren't classified as food...  
> *hesitantly hands them over*  
> *accidentally drops an apple in some milk*  
> Well uh there you go I guess just fish it out.  
> *chucks imaginary golden carrot and apple juice, except it's literally like a carrot made of solid gold and it's heavy*  
> Also, someone wants Enderpearls, so here you go.  
> *tries to throw them at readers, but ends up accidentally teleporting*  
> Uh.  
> *puts them in an Enderchest like in Xisuma's episode 299 which you must watch if you haven't seen it before because oh my gosh it's so funny*  
> There you go. It's in my Enderchest. Feel free to take some :D  
> Also, just sayin, I was originally going to kill Etho, but decided against it to make this more meaningful.  
> Can anyone guess what Tubbo handed Dream?


	28. Ecru White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "For Tubbo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long, I considered breaking it only two, but then decided not to because I'd already decided there would be 29 chapters. Thank you all for being patient <3  
> Enjoy.

Tommy tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, a single name echoing in his mind. 

It was happening. He would see Tubbo again. 

He had to believe.

Sapnap edged carefully along the portal frame, nimbly clicking each Eye of Ender into the correct slot, and they were all watching as the blocks started to hum with power.

The last one. 

There was a satisfying clicking sound as the Eye slid into the carved hole on the frame, and it settled down heavily, glowing with energy. The portal came to life.

He stared down in slight awe at it, a beautiful shimmering pool of magic, impossibly dark, yet casting beams of light around the room, sparkling with multicoloured stars like gemstones.

There was a small party of Hermits and SMPers who had decided be a part of the final fight, but everyone was here, in the portal room, to help carry supplies and say goodbye, for, what nobody dared say, what might be the last time.

Bad, Sapnap, George and Tommy would be going from the Dream SMPers, Bad mostly for his knowledge of healing.

False, Iskall, Etho, Hypno, Stress and Cleo were the hermits who were going to be preset for the fight, the last two acting as healers. Stress had precious knowledge of using potions, and Cleo, who had argued that she was already undead and therefor might not be affected no Respawns, had volunteered to help her.

Keralis was fidgeting nervously. "Be safe." He begged them, and Ren patted his shoulder comfortingly, knowing that he was also worried out of his mind for their missing admin.

"They'll bring him back. Just you wait."

Keralis sighed. "Yes." He agreed, a fragile note of hope lightening is voice. 

Ren paused to watch his fellow hermits prepare for battle, his gaze meeting Tommy's from across the room, his expression soft with sympathy.

Tommy lowered his gaze. He didn't want pity, he wanted for everyone to hurry up so that they could go. He was ready, nervous energy fizzing through his veins, his hands gripping his sword tightly. He didn't have a shield, because he didn't want one. Shields were for hiding, and he refused to hide.

"Alright." George started, clearing his throat with a sideways glance at Sapnap. "Is everyone ready?"

Bad blinked nervously, nodding. Iskall handed False a few Enderpearls, and she pocketed them with a brief nod of thanks, then turned to George. 

"Yes, I'm ready." She whispered.

Etho and Hypno were exchanging arrows, counting shafts and sorting their quivers. They had one of the most important roles: to take out the End Crystals as soon as possible to stop the dragon from healing. Etho raised his head, his red eye gleaming fiercely in the torchlight.

"Yes". His voice was grave.

Stress handed Cleo one last bundle of potions, shaking one gentle and observing the faint rosy glow that emitted from it. She glanced at George.

"I'm ready." Her voice was confident. Cleo nodded in agreement.

Tommy jumped to his feet. "Let's go then!" His voice was strained with impatience. 

George hesitated. He swallowed nervously, then tilted his shoulders back, lifting his head high. "Let's go." 

Sapnap raised his sword, his eyes glinting dangerously, ready.

All ten of them stepped forwards at the exact same time, and through the hazy feeling of teleportation, Tommy could make out one word, one word, that followed them into the nothingness, echoed and spoken by a chorus of voices.

"Goodbye."

* * *

Tommy opened his eyes, relieved to find that his form had solidified. He blinked, staining his eyes in the gloom, and found that he could see an obsidian platform, which his feet were planted firmly on, and a wide stretch of nothingness, a pale moon-like island floating a good distance away from them.

Everyone was here, the adults taking a little longer to teleport than Tommy did as they were bigger, and he took the opportunity to place a couple blocks, the start of a precarious bridge spanning the Void.

The rest of his party shimmered into existence, Bad immediately reaching out an arm and dragging Tommy back. "Be careful! That's over the Void!"

"I know!" Tommy snapped back, annoyed. "You don't have to treat me like a kid! I know what I'm doing."

He regretted the words almost instantly as hurt sparked in Bad's eyes - he knew that Bad was nervous because Bad cared, but at the same time, Tommy felt a little satisfied. After all, he _wasn't_ a child.

Bad nodded wordlessly and turned to George. "So what's the plan?"

George hesitated. "The dragon won't see us out here, but once we start bridging, it will. So we need one person on the bridge to build, and preferably both archers to distract it."

Etho nodded. "Aim for the eyes." He advised, and Hypno nodded, rubbing his fingers along his bow nervously.

Cleo smiled. "I'll bridge. I'm the least useful of all of you, and there's a chance that dying might not affect me the same way it does to the rest of you."

Stress opened her mouth to retaliate, but Cleo tapped her lips gently. "No. I'm being realistic."

She glanced at George for confirmation, and he narrowed his eyes. "I don't agree with your usefulness," he said finally, "but I do agree with your second point."

"Can't we fly?" Tommy interrupted, suddenly remembering elytras.

Sapnap shook his head. "If you fly, you compete with the dragon. And we can't fly better than the dragon."

Cleo maneuvered herself onto the little bridge base that Tommy had started, then carefully focused on connecting more blocks to it.

Tommy fidgeted nervously watching her, waiting for the dragon. Etho and Hypno stood a little behind him, an arrow grasped in their hands, ready to nock and shoot in an instant, waiting for the dragon to make an appearance. 

When it first swooped out of the endless black sky, he could hardly believe his eyes.

Sure, the stories had always called it a giant beast. 

Dream boasted about it being massive after defeating it in his manhunts. 

Bad had told him once that it was gigantic. 

Nothing prepared him for the _thing_ that seemed to melt out of the emptiness, wings filling up the Void, black scales the same colour at the eternal darkness, making it seem as if it was everywhere at once. It gave a single snarl that echoed through the air, low and menacing. 

Two violet eyes glowed in the darkness, and he could make out the jagged shape of the creature's jaws, opened wide to reveal the faintest purple gleam inside its throat.

An arrow flew past his shoulder, straight towards the dragon's eye, and it jerked is head back at the last moment, the projectile shattering harmlessly against its scales.

Tommy swallowed. He would fight it.

For Tubbo.

The thought gave him strength.

The dragon swerved suddenly, leathery wings cutting through the air, flying towards Cleo who was still building, only about halfway to the island, and Tommy heard the whistling sounds of two arrows being released. They streaked through the air, one splintering as it hit the thick plating against the creature's neck, the other scraping against its mouth. The dragon gave a thundering shriek of anger, snapping its jaws shut, crushing the arrow between its teeth and tilted its wings away from them again, as if reconsidering whether they were worth fighting.

Tommy stared at the dragon for a moment, mesmerized. It was a monster of brute strength, the frenzied hatred burning in its eyes rivalling the excited bloodlust Tommy had seen in Techno's right after a fight. It's scales as hard as diamond, thick and shiny against its body, wickedly curved claws gleaming, a powerful tail swinging behind it. It's wings were huge, folding and extending with surprising grace, the sound of the wind created by each flap rolling like thunder through the darkness.

It extended its neck, tilting its head to regard them with a furious gaze, muscles rippling along its chest and throat.

Truth to be told, he was almost a little sorry that they had to kill it. After all, _it_ hadn't done anything wrong. But if he wanted Tubbo to be able to walk back into this world without immediately dying, the dragon would have to go.

For Tubbo.

"Cleo's done it!" George's excited voice brought Tommy's attention back to the situation at hand, and he glanced forward at the small shape of Cleo standing and waving from the island.

Sapnap narrowed his eyes as Etho released another arrow in attempts to stop the dragon from ploughing through the bridge. "We need to go, now!"

Tommy turned to look at him. "One at a time?"

"Just go!" False interrupted. "Don't look back!"

Tommy didn't need to be told twice, and he took off running, the block-wide bridge feeling firm under each step, the thin air of the End rushing past him, streaming its fingers of wind through his hair. He could see the dragon snapping at arrows Etho and Hypno sent its way, too occupied to bother with everyone else, and he could hear the pattering of footsteps as the rest of his friends ran behind him. 

Keep running.

Onwards.

For Tubbo.

He reached the end island, panting, trying to catch his breath and realized with a flicker of amusement just how out of shape he was. His inability to train daily with Tubbo and Techno had not helped with his endurance.

He glanced upwards at the obsidian pillar. It seemed to stretch on forever, and he couldn't see the top.

A hand clamped firmly down on his shoulder, and he jumped, cursing loudly, whirling around to face its owner, Bad.

Bad gave him a small smile. "Language! But sorry I startled you. Just saying, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. But - just - look out for yourself, alright?"

Tommy blinked. "Yeah sure." He hesitated. "So now we just wait?"

Bad nodded. "We can't do any lasting damage before the crystals are down, so we need Etho, Hypno and maybe Sapnap or George to take a couple shots."

Tommy nodded, adrenaline still coursing through his blood from his run, and he forced himself to stay put, watching. Etho and Hypno dashed wildly across the bridge, Sapnap firing a couple cover shots for them, keeping the dragon busy with snapping the arrows out of the air.

The archers reached the main island, and immediately nocked and fired arrows. Tommy watched the projectiles tilt through the air, one missing ever so slightly, the other hitting a crystal which exploded into a cloud of smoke and glimmering shards.

Bad grinned. "Nice shot!" He yelled loudly. 

Hypno gave him a quick smile. "Thanks." He reached for another arrow.

Tommy paused, watching the dragon again. It had stopped flying, and was perched on a small structure in the middle of the island - the portal, he guessed. It snarled threateningly, wings arched above its spine, two trails of smoke rising from its nostrils. It's tail was curled protectively around a black and purple orb, and he realized with a start of alarm, that is was a dragon egg.

It was protecting an egg.

The thought saddened him a little, as he imagined what Tubbo would think about it. 

_That's so cruel! We can't kill it, it's just defending its kid!_

He tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade, casting the thoughts aside. It didn't matter what the dragon was or was not, he had to kill it.

For Tubbo.

* * *

Tommy glanced upwards, sky blue eyes following a single arrow as it arced through the darkness, a sliver of silver in the eternal night.

It hit, and he watched the last crystal explode, showering the Endermen below the obsidian column with shining fragments that sparkled like lost stars.

The dragon was in the air, circling warily above them, and it gave a thundering roar as it seemed to understand that it was no longer immortal. Tommy winced and covered his ears, as did the rest of the group. False, who was closest to him unsheathed her sword and shot him a quick grin. 

"Ready for some action?"

Tommy raised his blade. "At the portal?"

She nodded, her sea-blue eyes determined. "When it comes down to the portal, we can reach it with a sword, but be careful of its attacks."

He nodded, following her behind a obsidian pillar. If the dragon didn't see them, it had a fair chance of swooping in to land beside its egg again.

For a few moments they waited, swords drawn, and he could hear his heartbeat drumming wildly in his chest, pulsing in his ears. And then, with a screech that could split the sky, the dragon descended onto the portal frame, craning its neck and curling its tail around its egg again, wings folding neatly across its back.

"Now!" False exclaimed, darting out from behind the pillar and running. 

He followed her, his blade suddenly feeling very heavy in his hands as he sprinted towards the dragon. He could see George and Sapnap and Iskall emerge from behind several other pillars, all making their way over, and the dragon snarled, twisting its head back and forth, unsure of who to focus on.

Sapnap reached it first, and, without hesitation, swung his axe at the dragon's leg. The gleaming diamond edge cut a thin white line across its thick black scales, and it reared back with a hiss, a purple plume of smoke rising from its mouth, angry, but not very hurt.

"Sapnap!" George yelled, tackling his friend from behind as the dragon blasted a glowing stream of purple fire where Sapnap had been standing a heartbeat before.

An arrow zipped down from a column - Tommy could see Etho and Hypno both had chosen one and were standing at the top - flying towards the exposed egg, and the dragon flicked out a wing, the arrow splintering against it harmlessly. 

Iskall reached the dragon and slashed his sword towards the dragon's chest, barely able to lash out high enough, but with the way it was crouched, he could manage. A thin line of red bled into its scales, and the dragon gave a shriek of pain and fury, opening its jaws and spraying a thick shimmering violet mist around it. Iskall dove wildly out of the way, barely managing to leap out of the blast radius. 

"Aim at its chest and stomach area!" Iskall shouted at the rest of them. "The scales are softer there!"

False nodded, waiting for the mist to dissipate. She turned to Tommy. "I'll distract it. You try to get it where Iskall did."

Tommy grinned, appreciating the fact that she seemed to deem him capable of attacking. "My pleasure." 

The purple faded, and False leapt forwards nimbly, waving her sword in front of the dragon's snout, and Tommy could see it narrow its eyes in concentration, head following her movements. Quick as lightning, he lunged with his sword, the blade slashing its dark scales in the exact same place where Iskall had wounded it, and they both jumped back as the dragon gave another roar of pain, lashing its tail wildly as red droplets glittered on the ground. 

The dragon reached out, snapping its jaws at them, and another arrow streaked downwards, aiming at the egg, so it drew back and blocked it with its tail.

Sapnap jumped forwards, seeing an opening, hefting his axe, and suddenly, when horrific speed, the dragon spun, spiked tail catching him in the stomach, slicing through his armour, and he was thrown back violently, crumpling into a heap on the ground, red splattering the Endstone beneath him.

"Sapnap!" George screamed.

He ran towards his friend, and the dragon glanced in his direction, hissing, purple sparks already flickering in its mouth. 

Tommy launched himself at the dragon, desperate to keep if from firing. He raised his sword, bringing it down as hard as he could on the edge of the monster's wing, a grim satisfaction settling over him as it growled and faced him. He could see Bad and Stress tending to Sapnap, but he didn't know how badly he had been hurt.

Fury burned in his veins and he glared at the beast, his sword suddenly feeling balanced in his hands, the itch to draw blood pulsing in his fingers. The dragon made a odd sort of hissing sound deep in its throat, smoke rising from its nostrils.

And then a firm hand clamped down on his shoulder and dragged him back just as the dragon spat a thin line of flame, and he spun around, anger hardening his voice as he stared at False. "What are you doing?!"

She met his gaze unwaveringly. "That would have killed you. Know your limits."

He gaped at her for a moment and she narrowed her eyes. "You can't win against dragonflame, especially considering you don't have a shield. You have to know when to back down."

He swallowed sulkily, seeing the logic behind her words unwillingly. "Fine." He snapped, then hesitated and forced himself to soften his voice. "Thanks." He muttered.

She blinked at him, looking almost a little surprised, then nodded. "Of course."

She stared at the dragon which was preoccupied with arrows that were showering down on it, Etho and Hypno providing a few moments of cover fire, then turned back to Tommy. 

"Go check on Sapnap. I know you need to know."

He swallowed the lump of fear in his throat. "I'll do that."

She nodded in return and he jogged around the perimeter of the island, ducking behind the obsidian columns as often as possible to hide from the monster's piercing gaze, his heart hammering in his chest. He and Sapnap were never particularly close, but they had fought together a couple times.

He reached the other side of the island, standing behind George and peering over his shoulder to see Bad and Stress both leaning over Sapnap, trying to stop the bleeding. Sapnap grimaced as he saw Tommy. 

"Hey." His voice was weak. Stress immediately shushed him, tipping a position to his mouth.

Tommy blinked. "Uh, hey." He turned to George. "Will he..." his voice trailed off.

George wrung his hands nervously. "I don't know." His dark brown eyes sparked with fear. "I don't know."

Tommy placed a hand on his shoulder, surprising himself as much as he surprised George. "Hey, it'll be alright."

George blinked at him, then nodded, turning to Stress, determination glinting like steel in his gaze. "We're continuing with the dragon. Call me back if..." He gestured towards Sapnap. "...If he needs me."

Tommy could detect the hidden fear in his voice, hear the hidden meaning of his words. 

_Call me if I need to say goodbye._

He didn't comment on it though, and drew his sword, following George, turning to face the dragon. The monster snarled, eyes burning with hatred, and George raised his weapon, a fiery anger alight in his gaze. The dragon hissed, snapping an arrow out of the sky, biting it cleanly in two, and George took the opening to dart forwards, slicing his sword against the beast's chest, cutting deeper than before, and the dragon twisted its tail in pain, scarlet blood splattering onto the cream coloured Endstone. 

Iskall rammed his shield against the monster's other side, diverting its attention for a moment before it whipped its head around to snap at George.

George dove out of the way as the dragon lashed out with its claws, jaws split in an ear-piercing roar, and False threw her sword at it in desperation to stop it from catching him. It spun around, eyes glowing, and Tommy lunged at it from the opposite side, stabbing his sword into its chest as hard as he could. 

For a heartbeat, time seemed to stop. 

The dragon went rigid, its muscles tensing, and everyone froze, before it lashed out with a shriek, wings smashing into Tommy, and suddenly he hit his head one something hard and pain flared in his skull like lava was burning inside his head.

He tried to sit up, dizzy from pain, the world swimming around him, twisting and sailing hypnotically, but also threatening to make him sick.

He could make out the shape of the dragon, bright violet eyes burning into his soul, dissolving into pure light, melting into the eternal darkness of its surroundings.

Suddenly Cleo was leaning over him, her eyes gleaming with worry, and he took a few deep breaths, the pain already fading, the world starting to come back into focus.

"I'm fine." He managed to croak. 

Cleo did not look convinced, and all of a sudden False was there as well, helping him up and half-carrying him over to Stress and Bad.

Bad fussed over him, informing him that Sapnap would be alright, and that he had cut his head open, although it wasn't deep and he would live.

"Good." He muttered, then raised his voice. "Will it scar?" Excitement ran through his veins as he imagined himself showing off a scar to Tubbo.

Bad gave a tiny smile. "No, it won't."

He cursed, and for once, Bad didn't protest, but blinked at him in amusent.

George nodded at him. "You did alright."

Tommy gave a tired smile. "Thanks. You did okay yourself."

False hovered over him for a moment, checking with Stress that they would all be alright, then left through the portal to bring everyone through so that they could figure out a plan to always have at least one person here in case all their missing friends came back.

He sat there for a moment in content silence. He had done it.

A tremor ran through the island. They all turned to look at each other, confusion glittering in all their eyes.

The portal shuddered, and George sprang to his feet, sword already in hand.

Violet light was tossed into the air, flickering from the portal like a magical wishing well, reminding Tommy of circus lights.

Stress reached out a hand and lowered George's weapon, her eyes wide. "That's an admin's portal." Her voice was heavy with meaning, and George gaped at her.

Tommy nudged Bad's hand aside and stood up, craning his neck.

There was a flash of light, and three figures came into being. Dream, without his mask, face exposed, hands clutching a gash on his side, crimson blood streaming through his fingers.

Xisuma, without his helmet, face pale, holding up the third person.

Techno, leaning heavily on the Voidwalker, barely awake, purple particles glittering around his hands. 

There was a heartbeat of stunned silence. 

And then Bad was rushing forward, and Stress and George, who was supporting Sapnap, and Iskall, eyes shining with tears, and Tommy shoved them all aside, a single question burning through his mind.

"Where's Tubbo?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. Firstly, no more food requests. I have food planned for next time.  
> Secondly, and more importantly, I have just been sent my very first piece of fanart _ever_ , and it's awesome, y'all should all go check it out. It's from Silbarz, and depicts the scene from Chapter 27 between Ex and Tubbo.  
> I don't want to deal with inserting images into AO3, so I've essentially put it onto Wattpad, and copied the link:  
>  _https://www.wattpad.com/987896734-fanart-01-the-fanart_  
>  Please go check it out, and oh my gosh just look at Tubbo's shirt awwww :D
> 
> You guys are the absolute best, and I truly appreciate all your support. This is the penultimate chapter, and it's hard to believe that this story is coming to an end soon.  
> One last chapter to go *insert happily crying emoji*
> 
> Thank you <3


	29. Tilleul Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."  
> \- _Winnie the Pooh_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter. 
> 
> I'm honestly at a loss for words. This journey was amazing - every step of the way was wonderful. I cannot thank you all enough for being so supportive, reading comments is often the highlight of my day (yeah school is boring), and I've enjoyed writing every word.
> 
> I'm the type of person who usually dreams big, then leaves a project halfway through, so I'm pretty proud of myself for actually being motivated enough to keep writing this story, but I must admit, I don't think I could have done it without all of you amazing people - especially those of you who have left comments or even drawn Fanart (like, what?! I'm still in disbelief, it's too good to be true.)
> 
> So thank you. 
> 
> And, for the last time in Two Worlds, 
> 
> Enjoy.

Tommy could see from Dream's gaze, his expression, what his answer was, and he stumbled back, hardly listening to Dream repeating the same phrase, over and over again.

_I'm sorry, I failed him. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

The world blurred, the truth sitting in his chest, cold as ice. Nothing felt real anymore, and he wondered if jumping off the edge of the island and into the eternal darkness would be so terrible of a thing. 

At least he would be unable to feel the emotions that felt like a knife shattering his heart, over and over again, more painful than any physical wound he could have been inflicted with. 

Tubbo was gone.

There was no Respawn, no second chances. The finality of this death was jarring, yet numb, and he didn't believe it. Didn't want to. 

If he accepted, he would be letting Tubbo down.

Tubbo, gone.

He wondered if time would make it better. Smooth over his ruined heart, encase it in ice so that he would never have to experience such turmoil again. He didn't want to feel the pain, didn't want to feel anything. 

He soon found out that time did little for the grief. 

It never truly melted, only grew to be a part of him. He preferred nightmares over sweet dreams, because at least he would wake up and feel better. When he dreamed of Tubbo, his eyes were never dry when he opened them in the morning.

He was lost and broken, a boat with snapped oars drifting out at sea.

Then on one fine morning, in hazy golden light, Dream had come and told him everything they had experienced, everything Tubbo had done. He had explained to Tommy that Tubbo had been captured alongside them, a victim as the rest of them were, and that he had sacrificed himself to allow the rest to escape. 

Tommy had screamed at him, then cursed and swore, then cried, and Dream had let him cry. And then he had opened his palm, and handed him the charm he had given to Tubbo all those years ago when they had first met. It was a token of friendship from one innocent heart to another. 

The tiny golden bee that rested gently in his hand, a weight that anchored him to the world. It was a symbol of Tubbo, the single item that brought him back whenever he felt like the world was too much to bear. He never let go of it now, holding it forever, the way he and Tubbo were meant to be. 

Time didn't fix things, only threw them together and moved onwards. And slowly Tommy let himself be carried with the flow. 

He looked out into the wonderful blue sky one day, and felt as if an old fire had been rekindled. The grief that weighed in his chest shifted slightly, and he found that he had friends who were willing to connect with him, he only had to let them in.

He was alive, but only then did he really _live_. He had found a reason to: for Tubbo. He had to live twice as hard, to make up for the loss that had taught him of his own mortality, and sometimes he still had bad days when a familiar face plagued his dreams, and he would awake in a cold sweat. Sometimes he didn't feel like doing anything, and just mustering enough willpower to open his eyes and get dressed was a milestone. And sometimes he would cry, cry for the friend, the brother, that the world had taken all too soon.

But those days came fewer, and farther in between. And the remaining days he didn't forget, but rather let his past shape his future. He would never let go of the memories of Tubbo, they were the most precious things he owned, but he learned to celebrate them, to love them and embrace them.

And he waited, alive and living, for the day they would reunite.

* * *

Dream felt like he was living with ghosts. 

Everything he saw or heard was an echo of something before it, a reminder of the past, a window to the times he yearned for ceaselessly. 

He no longer wore his mask. He had nothing to hide, and it made him feel too closed off. He craved human contact and sunshine, and hated the cold. 

He avoided mirrors, because he loathed the scar, the new scar, and it brought him back in time, to that helpless moment in those icy chains. He learned not to stare into puddles, or at lakes on a windless day. 

It was insulting, in the strangest way. He had always wanted to build something permanent, an empire so great it would never fall, a name for himself so important that it would never be lost in time. But all his attempts were torn down by the cruel claws of fate, the only true permanence they left were his scars, marks of his failure for all of eternity.

He had given Tubbo's charm to Tommy, watched as he broke like a dam of floodwater, and he had lied. He couldn't bring himself to tell Tommy what Tubbo had chosen, what he had done, so he told him that that Tubbo was simply another victim. 

He hated himself for that lie, and he didn't know if he had made things better or worse. He feared the day that Tommy might find out, worried that he would break.

Xisuma had asked him at noon one cloudless day, if he wanted to go back. The code had been fixed, and if he chose to, he could return safely to his old world.

He had refused. 

There were too many memories, too many reminders of a moment in time he no longer had. Even thinking about it, listening to Tubbo's bright laugh in his mind felt like a knife twisting into his heart. 

He had failed, after all. Failed miserably. 

He didn't forgive himself - he wouldn't ever forgive himself, but he watched out for Tommy, determined to honour Tubbo by making sure that his best friend never slipped too far. Tommy was recovering, but Dream was not.

He felt so empty, so useless, so haunted. It was like an illusion, a mirage shimmering just about of his reach, the gold at the end of the rainbow shifting farther away every step he took took in attempts to get closer.

There were days when he wanted to give up. Everything he had built had crumbled to dust. The great empire he had raised and nursed, the little family he had fortified in his world, gone. Everything he had loved had turned grey and changed. There was nothing holding him down, nothing he cared about enough to try and keep going. 

Until there was. 

His friends were struggling too, trying to make sense of the curve in their story, yet one day, they saw him about to fade, and they brought him back. 

And slowly, he learned to forgive, although he refused to forget, and sometimes his heart would shatter all over again when he thought of Tubbo, of what his friends did for him that he couldn't do.

He was broken, it was plain to see, but he was being rebuilt. The cracks in his heart mended slowly, and while he knew that they would never truly vanish, they softened and blended and grew.

And somewhere along the way he knew, with an odd sense of certainty, that things would never be the same, but that they could still be alright.

And that was good enough for him.

* * *

Techno didn't feel victorious.

He felt nothing.

He shut out his feelings, refusing to let them into his heart. He was a warrior. And warriors didn't cry. So what was the heaviness that he felt pressing urgently against his chest?

Warriors mourn silently, and then strike back twice as hard for their fallen comrades.

But he didn't know who to attack. He was familier with fighting, with swinging a sword and cutting and stabbing and taking the life of something that had one. But he didn't know who his enemy was now. Certainly not a physical thing, so how was he meant to conquer it?

He was a king, after all, and he ruled. He could win a fight with anything. He was friends with death - he didn't fear it the slightest. He knew pain. He had perhaps the strongest willpower most others had ever seen. 

Yet he had no idea how to beat this awful feeling that ate at his heart.

And one fine afternoon, watching fluffy white clouds drift across a clear blue sky, he suddenly understood.

He was fighting himself. He couldn't forgive, and this was the one fight he could not win.

So he fixed it the only way he knew how. By fighting, by training, by becoming a warrior so thoroughly that he didn't have time to think, or to feel the heaviness in his heart and allow his eyes to blur with tears. He refused to talk to others, shut and locked his door. It wasn't their burden to carry.

He started to hate where his future was going, despise the path he had laid out for himself. It was so heart-wrenchingly lonely, a road of ice and snow, that he had to stop and finally he admitted something to himself that he had never dared to do.

He didn't want to be a alone.

He was overwhelmed by social situations sometimes, and he liked to have times when he was alone to think. But he craved friendship, family, yet didn't know how to achieve them. 

He had fought so hard, discovered his limits and pushed past them, trained endlessly, all for one single goal. To protect those he loved. And now that they were safe, he had shut himself away, and he didn't know how to get back.

He was lost, lost in an ocean he had made himself.

But then, on the horizon of that endless sea, he saw Wilbur one fine afternoon, and Wilbur had a map. 

Wilbur didn't understand him - no one did - but Wilbur _tried_ to understand him, and Wilbur was the one who brought him back, back to shore, and at last he was anchored. 

He discovered that his friends had missed him every bit as much as he had missed them, and despite one less smiling face than the last time he had seen them all together, he lowered his walls, ever so slightly, as he felt the ice he had built around his heart begin to thaw.

He still trained though. But not for himself. He was done with being alone.

He trained the hermits, laughing mercilessly at them as they messed over and over again, trained Tommy, their bond growing stronger than ever before, and trained himself, to let his friends in.

And on one morning, watching the clouds drift across a crystal clear sky, it occurred to him that he was finally fighting a battle he knew he could win.

The forever uphill war of self improvement didn't seem to ever end, and he knew it wouldn't, but he could taste the glimmer of hope in his future, and he knew, with absolutely certainty, that if he put his heart to it, he would emerge victorious.

* * *

Xisuma couldn't remember the last time he had slept. 

To sleep meant the nightmares, and the pain of seeing Tubbo, the venomous fangs that would stab into his heart as he relived that single moment, over and over and over again.

He was afraid, so he avoided it. 

The heaviness in his chest never seemed to go away, and he found that he cared less and less about it. His singular motivation became for his friends, to repair the code so that their lives could go back to normal as quickly as possible, despite knowing that nothing would ever be the same again.

He fixed the glitches Jschlatt and Ex and Tubbo had inflicted upon the codes of the two worlds, and he picked at them so finely that by the time he was finished, both were stronger than they had ever been.

He had talked to Dream, told him that he could return to his old world if he wanted to, and just from his expression Xisuma could tell that his answer would be no.

Neither of them wore their masks anymore. Xisuma simply didn't care enough for it. Before, there was a sort of giddy amusement at people not knowing his face, and a slight embarrassment at his oddly coloured eyes, but now it was just another heavy object to carry around, so he didn't bother with it.

With the codes fixed, he had too much time to think, so he scoured through them again, ceaselessly, days and nights blending together.

He found working with the code to be oddly satisfying - it was something he could understand, something predictable and natural for him, and with the code, every problem had a solution - something he knew from experience wasn't always true in his life.

It was a distraction that stopped him from thinking about the tears that would threaten to fall if he dove into his memories for too long.

Keralis found him one day half awake, typing furiously on his keyboard, and dragged him away, pushed him firmly onto a bed insisting that he sleep. It was then that he couldn't hold himself together anymore, and he told his best friend everything he had seen and felt and thought, and then he had cried, Keralis awkwardly hugging him, and the only thing he could think of was how lonely he had been.

And so he started heading up again, his path curving closer to the light. He learned to let his past fears guide his future, learned to ask for help when he needed it. And he needed help a lot. But all of his hermits, his friends, his _family_ were there, and he had reason to hope again.

It wasn't an easy road to walk, and he knew from the moment he took the first step, but there was something relieving about letting himself lean on others after supporting them for so long, and he grew to understand that sometimes, it was necessary to share the burden that he carried.

He made sure Dream understood that too, talking with Sapnap and George to ensure that they kept an eye out for their friend.

Some days he and Dream and Techno would come together in some quiet spot in the forest and talk about the things they had seen. There was always a reserved sort of understanding they shared after what they had been through.

Sometimes the entire server would take a day to relax, sit around and have fun, telling stories and remembering old friends. When a day like this was through, there would never be a dry eye.

And sometimes they thought of the days they had before, the present that was ceaselessly becoming the past, and the past that was slipping farther and farther away into the depths of their memories, yet refusing to be forgotten. 

The future loomed ahead, an unavoidable truth that slipped closer with every heartbeat, bringing an unknown tide.

But they were ready for it, for whatever was thrown their way.

And with that, Two Worlds 

Became

One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a journey for you and I as much as it has been for the characters in this fic, and I can now firmly say that I love this community, and despite this fic ending, I will continue with my Oneshots and that one day, I'd like to start another "main story", although I don't know what it'll be about yet. (Ideas and suggestions welcome)
> 
> I made a promise a couple chapters ago:  
> *reaches out and hands everyone a big slice of magical cake that is whatever flavour you like best and then throws confetti in the air*
> 
> Also, snapGar has created this incredible drawing of Tommy fearing for Tubbo, and it's absolutely awesome, his expression is amazing! Please go check it out:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/snapgar/art/Two-Worlds-Ch28-861969958?ga_submit_new=10%3A1606082174
> 
> Silbarz has also created another wonderful piece depicting Tommy against the enderdragon, please also take a look because it's epic!  
> https://www.wattpad.com/987898611-fanart-02-the-fanart
> 
> If you are reading this line of text, it was added about a week after I finished the story, and it is to announce that I have finally named the chapters. They are named after colours that I think fit the plot/mood, and spell out a message when all looked at together :D
> 
> Thank you, every single one of you, for sticking with this story up until the end. When I started it, three weeks ago, I never would have imagined it would get this much attention, or that I would love writing it so, so much.
> 
> And now that it's over, the only thing left is to move forwards.
> 
> "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."  
> ~ Dr Seuss
> 
> Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing on ao3, or any platform for that matter, so some formatting might be weird... I'm trying to fix some things. (EDIT: Yay, I figured out how to format and it has all been fixed :D)
> 
> Gonna be honest, this is super exciting and much thanks to the other writers on this platform as their stories are what inspired me to try sharing!
> 
> Cheers!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Mythic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27386812) by [Ceruth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceruth/pseuds/Ceruth)




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